


The Status of Us

by babytobin_horse, uswnt5ever



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-05
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2017-12-28 11:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/991380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babytobin_horse/pseuds/babytobin_horse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/uswnt5ever/pseuds/uswnt5ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Popular soccer star and smart Alex Morgan has a crush on surfer girl slacker but hidden genius Tobin Heath. They attempt to break the status quo<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt Kate (uswnt5ever) received awhile ago, and we decided we should write a fic together, so this is the one we decided on. We're super excited about it! Feedback would be great.

After a rough game the previous evening, Alex needed some time to herself. Laying in her bed last night waiting for sleep hadn’t done her any good. All she could think about was everything she did wrong in that game. She had been missing the most obvious shots, holding onto the ball for too long and not finding the right people to pass too. The worst part of it all was that everyone had noticed. It was hard being the star player of the team. She usually never let it get to her, but last night there had been a reason she didn’t play well. There was a reason her game was off. She felt like she was starting to lose her spot.

There was a new freshmen who had made varsity that season - the only freshmen to make varsity since Alex a few years ago. Her name was Christen Press, and she was without a doubt a rising star. A star that was jeopardizing Alex’s high school career, of course. She was a goal-scoring machine, almost beating Alex’s previous record for scoring the most goals as a freshmen. She also happened to be showing Alex up a lot lately. Sure, they worked together well on the field, but it was obvious Christen was beginning to outplay her. It was getting harder for her to make goals for some reason while the newcomer was finding the perfect opportunities. Opportunities which were supposed to be Alex’s.

Needless to say, Christen was the one that shined last night. The crowd in the stands adored her every minute. She scored the only two goals of the match, leaving the game at a draw. Their teammates surrounded the youngest member, shouting praises to her while Alex was angrily taking off her cleats, unsure what she did wrong this time. It wasn’t that she hated Christen. Christen was a good person. It was that Alex wasn’t performing her best. She had even been taking out for the last ten minutes because of the way she played.

Now, as the sun was slowly beginning to rise, she pulled on some sweats and a worn out hoodie before making her way to the only place that was able to calm her at times like these. Her hair was swept up into a loose ponytail as she left a note for her parents, letting them know she’d gone to the beach and would be back shortly. She knew they’d immediately worry about her if they went to wake her and she wasn’t in bed, so she decided to be on the safe side and give them fair warning in case she hadn’t returned by the time they were up. She stuck the note to the fridge and then grabbed her keys, making the fifteen minute commute to her place of peace.

Most of her town was still asleep, so it made Alex happy to see there wasn’t anyone already at the beach aside from the usual morning surfers or dog walkers. She walking along the sand, taking off her shoes to feel it between her toes. Once she found a good place to stay, she sat down, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Alex closed her eyes before resting her forehead against her knees and letting out a shaky breath.

 _I can’t have another game like that again_ , she thought to herself firmly. _I have to train harder this week. I have to remind everyone why they come to watch me._

After taking a few deep breaths and deciding she’d go to the field before school to work on some drills by herself, she opened her eyes. The sun was still barely peeking and Alex knew she should probably start heading to field if she wanted to get some alone time over there. But something stopped her. As she looked out into the ocean, she saw someone riding the waves almost as if they owned them. Squinting a little, her heart skipped a beat as she noticed the loose, sandy-colored hair on the surfer’s head that dripped down her back. _Tobin._

-

Tobin rolled over as her alarm went off at the ripe time of 5:00 AM. School wasn’t supposed to start for another few hours or so but it was her daily ritual to catch a few waves before the first bell. She smiled as she looked out her window to see clear blue sky and the beginnings of a perfect sunrise. She haphazardly threw on a nike shirt on top of her soccer shorts, grabbed her backpack, and was out the door.

A smirk grew across Tobin’s face as she pulled into her usual spot by the boardwalk. It was her favorite time of day at her favorite place to be. She found solace at the beach, unlike at school where everything was regimented and uniform, she could be free out on the ocean. No worries, nothing but good vibes , sandy feet, and plenty of sunshine. She put on her worn wetsuit that she was too lazy to replace, and took her favorite board out of the back of her car which was permanently covered in sand and good memories.

She felt at home as soon as her feet hit the sand. She looked around at the empty beach before her, it was just how she liked it. She said a quick prayer before she ran into the cool water. The swells were decent that day and as an hour or so passed, Tobin found herself tiring quicker than usual. She hadn’t bothered to notice the surfers that had joined her out on the water or the passer bys that were walking their dogs. She had grown accustomed to the usual early morning crowd, and knew most of them by name at that point.

 _That’s enough for one morning sesh_ she thought as she floated into shore. As she got closer she noticed a strange figure huddled on the beach, not too far away from where she was parked. The girl looked strangely familiar, even though Tobin’s eyesight was less than perfect, she could still make out the brunettes lighter highlights and her strong gaze.

As she got closer she could tell the girl was her age, a year younger if anything.

She walked out of the water still unsure of who the new girl was.

“You’re a little young to be at the beach so early..” Tobin said as she got close enough to see the girl’s stunning clear blue eyes.

The brunette raised an eyebrow at the girl, trying to find her words. It was as if sand had gotten stuck in her throat. “And who says you’re any older?”

When she found her words, Alex was trying very hard to hold in her blush. It was stupid, really. Her high school’s star soccer player shouldn’t be shy of anything, but there she was, barely able to speak all because of the girl in front of her. She was quickly becoming mesmerized by the friendly light-brown eyes she found herself looking into. She’d observed this girl quietly for at least the past year, but never had she had an opportunity to talk to her.

 

“Well how old do you think I am?” Tobin curiously asked

 

“Maybe a year older than me,” Alex shrugged, trying not to give too much away. She was intrigued by this girl - she had been for awhile - and she wasn’t sure where this was leading to.

Tobin squinted at the girl trying to place her in her head “Oh ..don’t you play volleyball or something? I think i’ve seen you on one of the school posters before.. Oh and I’m Tobin by the way”

The younger girl stopped herself from showing a look of surprise. It was rare that she came across someone who didn’t know who she was. Their school was pretty big, but - not to be arrogant or anything - she was Alex Morgan, striker for their soccer team. Alex ended up nodding, though, managing to find her words again. “Soccer, actually. I’m Alex,” she offered a smile and had to remind herself not to say I already know your name. She didn’t want to scare the girl off.

Tobin couldn’t help but flash a smile as her new acquaintance grinned at her. She would be lying if she didn’t say that she was intrigued by the soccer player who reeked of expensive perfume and wore too much makeup for proper beach ware. The girl was completely different than anyone she usually hung out with, and she found a strange comfort in how opposite they seemed to be.

“Ah futbol, my favorite sport! Let me guess, you’re a forward?” Tobin confidently suggested

Alex couldn’t help but beam at what Tobin just said. She wasn’t sure if she was more excited by the fact it was her favorite sport or the fact she correctly guessed Alex’s position. “Yup, that’s me!” She looked at the girl curiously. “Honestly, I didn’t pin you as a soccer fan.”

It was true - she didn’t. To her, Tobin seemed to be the type of person who lived for the beach, and didn’t care for anything besides that. But there was always something that caught Alex’s attention. Maybe it was the fact that the girl was so mysterious to her. Maybe it was now the fact that she hadn’t known who Alex was at first. She didn’t know. But what she did know was that she’d been attracted to the girl since she first spotted her a few years ago on the first day of high school.

Tobin laughed at the girl’s comment “I wouldn’t have pinned you as an early beach-goer..” she remarked. Tobin looked back at the sun’s position as it had fully risen over the ocean’s horizon. “We should probably get going to school, wouldn’t want to miss anything ‘important’, do ya need a lift?” she offered.

Alex immediately decided she liked that laugh….a lot. It was music to her ears. At the mention of school, she stood, brushing the sand off her sweats the best she could. She suddenly wished she hadn’t driven to the beach, just so she could accept Tobin’s offer. She wanted to know more about this girl, there was a sudden thirst for knowledge about Tobin that needed to be quenched and Alex was more than willing to fulfil it. “It’s fine, I drove here,” she explained, gesturing to the general area she parked her car. “I actually need to stop at home first and pick up my backpack and soccer bag. I didn’t really expect to be here long.”

 

Tobin cracked another laugh “Better hurry up superstar, the first bell isn’t going to wait up for you, no matter how many goals you score!”

Alex grinned at the sound of Tobin’s laugh, but it faded just a little with the joke. Last night’s game was still fresh in her mind, but she still offered another smile. “Of course not. I’ll see you around then?” She hoped she didn’t sound like a desperate child at the mention of running into her again.

Tobin continued the conversation as she walked over to her car and took off her wetsuit to reveal her tanned and toned abs. She thought nothing of changing in front of Alex, or anyone for that matter.

“Yeah i’ll have to stop by a volleyball game sometime” Tobin joked

Alex’s eyes widened at the sight of Tobin’s abs, along with her jaw dropping. She quickly shut her mouth, grateful that Tobin hadn’t even been looking in her direction. Then, she began to blush before tearing her eyes away from the sculpted view in front of her. _Well damn_ , she thought, deciding those abs definitely looked better than her own. When Tobin cracked a joke, she rolled her eyes, but a giggle escaped her lips anyway.

“Totally,” she played along. “I should really go before I’m late.” She thought about asking for Tobin’s number, but even she knew it was way too forward. She gave Tobin a small wave before spinning on her heels and walking to her car. Since she was turned the other way, she didn’t even bother to hide her huge grin.

 

Tobin chuckled at the girl’s willingness to take a joke. She watched as Alex hesitated a bit before turning to leave. She shrugged it off and wiped her body down with her towel one final time and got in her car to drive to school. She wasn’t sure what meeting Alex meant in the grand scheme of things but she knew that she enjoyed her presence and the fact that she was pretty easy on the eyes didn’t hurt either. Tobin looked at the cross hanging from her rearview mirror and grinned. She had known it was going to be a good day from the start , she said another thankful prayer before starting her car to go. She wasnt sure what she was thankful for just yet, but she knew that meeting Alex was something of fate.

  


-

  


After a bad game like the previous night, Alex should’ve been in a bad mood for most of the day. That was usually the case. But not this time. This time, she had a smile on her face and she laughing with her friends and teammates as if the game hadn’t even happened. Of course, her closest teammates picked up on this, but stayed quiet. They didn’t want to suddenly upset the forward.

As they laced up their cleats and made their way to the field, Alex’s best friend, a short, freckled defender, finally had enough. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about, Kelley?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Kelley crossed her arms. “You’re not acting like Alex.”

Alex’s brows furrowed together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hate to break it to you - and everyone has the right to kill me if I kill your mood - but you’ve been giddy all day. Come on Al, after a game like that you’re never in the mood for anything. What’s up?”

The forward pondered in thought for a moment. Had she really been that noticeable today? Well, she couldn’t really help it. After her run in with Tobin that morning, she didn’t have a reason to be upset. She’d been able to talk to the girl she’d been crushing on for the last couple of years and it turned out she was even better than Alex had expected. So kill her if Tobin was able to get her mind off of the terrible game she played last night. She was so lost in her thoughts of what happened that morning that she didn’t notice the smile that crept onto her lips.

“Is it a boy?!” Kelley gasped.

Alex suddenly snapped out of her thoughts, eyes widening. “What?! No!”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Alex laughed, rolling her eyes and poking Kelley’s side. “Come on little squirrel, we’ve got a practice to get through.” She quickly jogged off before Kelley could get in another word. She stopped short when she saw her coach with a hand on Press’s shoulder and a beaming grin. She knew that look. That was look she got when she’d saved the team with her goals. When she played like no one had seen her before. That look was reserved for her.

Well, there went Alex’s good mood.

  
  


_

 

_tick-tock tick-tock_

Tobin watched the slow minute hand as it made it’s way ever closer to being the time where she could leave the classroom.  It was philosophy and she usually liked lecture but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t tired from her surf sesh that morning. Her head bobbed up and down as she dozed off as her teacher went on about whether or not love and marriage was a social construct.

“Tobin!” she heard as she whipped right up wide eyed unsure of how long she had fallen asleep for

“Since you seem all too content with class this morning….why don’t you enlighten everyone with the theory listed in the homework?” the teacher passive aggressively asked.

Tobin sighed and began to speak with ease explaining the author’s theory and adding on her own leaving everyone speechless

It was a reaction she was used to by now, she knew she was smart but she also knew that she was lazy which meant surfing and everything else became a priority over her homework.

Most people considered her the unspoken genius of the school, it was something she was uncomfortable with considering she never liked bringing any unwanted attention to herself.

The bell rang and Tobin dashed out before anyone else was even finished packing their bags.

Unlike everyone else at school who went to their lockers after the last bell, Tobin made her way to the exit as she always carried everything she needed in her bag. She slipped her sunglasses on and her headphones as she rounded the corner to the parking lot.

She dug through her bag for her keys, unaware of anything around her because of the music in her ears, she didn’t notice until it hit her, the soccer ball that rolled into her leg. She was instantly reminded of meeting Alex that morning and smiled as she picked the ball up to toss it back to whoever lost it.

“Here-” Tobin began but was then taken aback as she met Alex’s light blue gaze for the second time that day.

“Oh um, hey,” Alex smiled sheepishly. She held out her hands as Tobin gently tossed her the ball. “Sorry, my teammates are idiots sometimes,” she laughed, rolling her eyes.

What were the chances she’d run into the soft, friendly brown eyes twice in one day? Chances were low, but she thanked God it happened. But then again, she looked terrible - her hair was probably all over the place with strands slipping out of her ponytail. Sweat probably decorated her face and she wasn’t entirely sure if you could tell she forgot to shave her legs.

“Oh hey” Tobin said reciprocating the smile. She noticed the girl’s crazy hair, the sweat dripping down the sides of her temples. The girl had noticeably been working hard, but Tobin still found something quite cute about her disheveled look.

“This is a soccer ball? But you play volleyball! Where’s the kneeguards?” Tobin asked not able to contain the laugh behind the shitty joke.

Alex tried her best to give the girl a glare, but ended laughing along at the stupid inside joke they had created within hours of truly meeting each other. “Looks like I forgot, thanks!” She laughed even harder, clutching onto the ball tightly before calming down a little. Suddenly, she forgot that she looked like a mess because of practice. She was just enjoying the sound of Tobin’s laugh more than anything else.

“No problem, even superstars forget sometimes…” Tobin stated as if it was the greatest truth ever told. Her smile widened as she watched the girl laugh at her joke. She had found her keys in the meanwhile and opened her car door to put her bag in . She popped back out “Hey superstar, you know ..pre-wrap will help..and Im thinking pink is totally your color.” She said

The girl looked back at her confused at the suggestion.

Tobin grinned as she pointed to her own hair to make Alex realize she was talking about her mess of a ponytail.

Alex was quickly taking a liking to the new nickname she had acquired today. But soon felt like an idiot when she gave Tobin that blank stare. “Oh...yeah, right,” she blushed, now running a hand over her hair now that the attention had been brought to it. “I’ll think about it,” she managed to say, a little smirk on her face. “You know, pretty sure that’s more for soccer players, but we’ll see.”

In the distance, she heard her name being called by a fellow teammate and resisted the urge to make a face. Sighing, she tossed the ball up and caught it in her hands. “I should head back to practice. Coach is probably wondering what’s taking me so long to get a stupid ball.”

Tobin grinned again “Ah i’ll have to get your autograph next time then…” She got in her car and turned the engine on prompting Alex to wave and turn around to go back to practice. Tobin stopped her though as she rolled down her window.

“You should give the pre-wrap a try though, I mean it may be for soccer players but who cares about the status quo anyways?” she said as she left not leaving time for Alex to respond.

Alex was about to invite Tobin to her next game, but thought better of it. She’d just met the girl - it’d be weird if she was being too forward. She heard the sound of Tobin’s window rolling down and spun around, facing her. Grinning at the comment, she jogged back to practice with a bit of a skip in her step.

“What took you so damn long?” Kelley asked immediately, quirking an eyebrow.

Alex shrugged. “Nothing, just talking to someone.” She tried her best to play it off.

Christen seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Hey, who was that girl you were talking to? She seemed cute.”

Jealousy was not one of Alex’s prettier traits. She dropped the ball at her feet to stop herself from throwing the ball at Christen. “Uh, Tobin I think? I don’t know I met her think morning.” She kept a straight face, but she knew she had to keep it cool.

The other forward raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “As I said, cute.”

“Sure,” Alex shrugged. She kicked the ball away. “Come on, we still have the rest of practice to get through.” She smiled at the both of them and sprinted off to a few teammates working on ladder drills.

 


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Game day: an evening where Alex knows she'll prove herself and Tobin attends her first soccer game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> super glad you guys are enjoying the story! We love feedback, just letting you know :)

There were times the locker room was so loud Alex was convinced the people outside could hear them. This was not one of those times. Instead, it was the last ten minutes before the game, when everyone was kind of doing their own thing and voices were either hushed whispers or completely silent. Alex herself was curled into a locker, her headphones on and head down. With her eyes closed, she was imagining how she was going to play tonight.

She had to be at the very top of her game. She couldn’t let her guard down for even a moment - not when competition was on her heels and on her own team. She had to remind everyone why she had gotten the reputation she had. Biting her lip, she imagined scoring a goal, with a cross maybe from Christen or maybe from one of her midfielders. That would be the game-winning goal. She hoped.

After her playlist ended, she slipped off her headphones and crawled out of her locker. She shoved her headphones into her nike duffel and before she closed it, her hand skimmed a roll of something. Alex didn’t bother containing her smile as she pulled it out. The night before, she had stopped by the soccer store to buy some pink pre-wrap, as requested by Tobin. She hadn’t stopped thinking about the girl at all. They hadn’t run into each other since last week, and it had been four days since then - not that Alex was counting. She rolled it out, measuring the amount she needed.

“Since when did you wear pre-wrap?”

The voice startled Alex that she dropped the roll. “Shit Kel, don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry,” Kelley said, but there was a smirk on her face. Voices began to rise and Alex knew the energy was buzzing through her teammates. “But really, since when do you wear that stuff?”

The forward shrugged, picking the roll up and then ripping off the right amount. “I’m tired of my hair looking crazy and getting in my face,” she answered as she fixed the pre-wrap into a headband and slipped it on. “Doesn’t hurt.”

“Okay…” The defender eyed her best friend slowly. “Whatever you say.”

“Ladies, on the field!” Coach called into the locker room.

“Come on,” Alex said rolling her shoulders back as she tossed the rest of her pre-wrap into her bag. “It’s game time.”

“Time to win,” Kelley grinned as they walked in pace out of the locker room.

 

Warming herself up, Alex jumped up and down, still in her warm up suit minus the sweatpants. She eyed the crowd carefully. The crowd seemed bigger than usual, and Alex liked that. Good, she thought. They’ll witness my A-game. Her eyes continued to scan the crowd until she found someone who didn’t belong there. Someone who didn’t usually go to these events. She was tanned, sitting alone and had her brown eyes on her. Alex held her breath. _She’s here._

 

Tobin slipped on her sunglasses and made her way over to the soccer field. She had been planning on taking a day on the water but changed her mind when she remembered the big game that afternoon. As much as she tried to not be conscious of it, Alex had been on her mind. Besides posters all around school with Alex’s face on it advertising the game, the superstar soccer player hadn’t left the girl’s head. Alex was much different than most everyone that she knew and she couldn’t help but look forward to the next time she could poke fun of her.

Tobin chose a seat kind of away from everyone else, the sun was setting and the air grew a bit colder. Tobin watched as the team came out for their warm up. She scanned the group of girls looking for that one brunette. Her eyes went from player to player until she saw the pink in Alex’s hair. _There she is._

She smirked as she realized the girl listened to her advice. She watched as Alex jumped up and down, her toned legs causing Tobin to lift her sunglasses so she could see better.

Tobin’s eyes were glued to the girl and it wasn’t until she made eye contact with her that she realized just how intently she was staring.

 _Be cool_ Tobin. She thought as she gave a quick thumbs up and a small grin.

Tobin pushed her sunglasses back on even though the sun had set and the field lights were on. This way she could watch Alex whenever she wanted without being too obvious.

As soon as the game started it became clear that everyone was staring at Alex anyways, and for good reason. Tobin dropped her jaw as she watched Alex blaze up and down the field with incredible pace making the other team look like snails in comparison.

It was the 32nd minute, scoreless, Tobin watched as some girl named Christen was subbed in. The game changed almost immediately as the girl ran onto the field.

In a dangerous run, Alex came up the left side with the ball, with Christen coming up the middle, Alex crossed it over as it met Christen’s right foot. Tobin jumped up excited clenching her fist. She watched as the team congratulated Christen, Alex being the last one.

It was halftime and Tobin had gotten into the game more than she had originally planned on. It was exciting, Alex was exciting, and all Tobin wanted was to get to know the school’s superstar a bit more.

As the team left the field Tobin looked around at the fans. She laughed at the half naked guys with Alex’s name painted on their chests. She smiled at the little girls standing on their tiptoes trying to look over the fence. She was so consumed with people watching that she almost didn’t notice when the two teams came back out on the field. She turned over to find Alex again but before she could find her she saw the Christen girl staring at her.

The girl gave a smile, and for a moment Tobin was sure that Christen was looking at someone behind her. Tobin turned around to find no one, she looked back to the girl who gave a laugh before resuming her warmup.

 _What is it with soccer players and me?_ Tobin thought as she shrugged it off.

 

The moment Tobin gave her that blinding grin, Alex knew they had the game. She had walked onto the field, somewhat thankful Christen wasn’t starting, and took a deep breath. Though Tobin was in the stands, she had something to prove and she wasn’t going to stop until the final whistle blew. There was something that had her much more buzzed than usual, and she couldn’t put a finger on it, but one last glance at Tobin in the stands was the last thing she remembered before the first whistle echoed in her ears.

She was like a rocket, outrunning every defender. Her senses seemed to be hyperactive, every fiber of her being paying attention to the game. Alex managed to get some shots in, but none of them hit the net. She was hungry for a goal tonight, just like the one she envisioned, and the fact that they were still scoreless only egged her on. She forgot about the guys she’d seen earlier with her name on their bodies. She forgot that Tobin was in the stands. She forgot about Christen outplaying her. To Alex it was her, the girls on the field and the ball.

When she saw the switchboard go up with Christen’s number, she silently cursed. It was time to step up her game. She continued making her runs and even dropped back a little, helping her midfield out when they needed her. Finally, she’d gotten a chance. One quick look at the other forward and she sent the ball over, watching at Christen easily sailed it past the goalie. The crowd seemed louder than usual tonight, and Alex couldn’t help but envy the fact they were cheering for Christen. So what if she assisted, it was the freshman who had made the goal. Reluctantly, she made her way over and congratulated her teammate, forcing a smile before jogging back to the center circle.

By halftime the star striker was still wanting a goal. With a few teammates patting her back and reassuring her that she was doing an excellent job, she grabbed a water bottle and headed back into the locker room with her team. As she plopped onto one of the benches, she wondered what Tobin thought of the game. And what she thought of Christen’s goal. Did she even notice Alex was the one who assisted?

She only half paid attention to what are coach was saying. There hadn’t been any specific directions given to her besides “keep doing what you’re doing”, so Alex saw no point. Instead her mind decided to think about Tobin, and how she was at the game without the forward having to ask. She liked that...a lot.

“Damn Lex, you’re on fire tonight,” a midfielder, Heather, said, giving Alex a slap on the back.

“Thanks HAO,” Alex smiled at her. “Just trying to get the win.”

“You’re incredible.”

“Really though, what’s with you tonight?” Kelley asked, quirking an eyebrow after HAO had walked ahead of them. She lowered her voice before asking, “Is this about Press?” Kelley was the only one Alex had confided in about the whole issue.

Alex shook her head. “Nah, not tonight. I’m just ready for us to win. Tying doesn’t make winners.”

Kelley looked at her friend strangely. “Mhmm…”

The two joined the group huddle, Coach giving out last minute instructions. As Alex’s eyes wandered around, she found Tobin once again, her eyes on the team. Just as she thought about waving, she saw Tobin looking back confused, then at the team again. Alex’s lips turned into a small frown before turning to see Christen looking at Tobin.

There was a new fire in Alex’s eyes now.

 

Flustered by the sudden eye contact with Christen, Tobin continued to look for Alex. She finally found the girl doing her warm ups a little more vigorous and with more purpose than before. She waited patiently for the girl to look her way hoping to point out her pink prewrap to her. The remaining ten minutes passed with Alex looking furious and Tobin remaining confused about it all.

Finally the second half started and the team had a new fire behind them, mostly due to the aggressiveness of Alex up top. Tobin watched eagerly as Alex had a close shot in the 68th minute and then the 77th but no goal. She could see that the girl was growing more hungry for a goal and angry by the minute. Tobin wasn’t sure what had sparked the girl but she did notice Alex ignoring Christen’s presence on the field. A few times Christen had been open but Alex selfishly carried the ball herself hoping to score. It was the 82nd minute and Alex saw Syd warming up. She knew what was to come next. She was going to be subbed.

After seeing Christen’s little exchange with Tobin, it was safe to say Alex was clearly running off of jealousy. To her, it seemed like Christen was no longer just stealing her spotlight, but also her crush. She didn’t like it to say the least. So she took it out on the field. Pretending Christen wasn’t open made less of a chance for the girl to score. So maybe Alex should’ve checked if Christen was okay after a hard tackle, but she didn’t. She wanted her goal and she was going to get it. It only seemed like minutes had passed by, but she knew that she didn’t have much time yet. When she glanced over to the sidelines and saw Sydney warming up, her immediate thought was that Christen was getting subbed out. Then, she realized it was her.

“Shit,” she muttered through gritted teeth. She glanced at Kelley, who gave her a warning look, but Alex sprinted down, getting even with the last defender before calling for the ball.

She watched at HAO dribbled around her opponents with ease, then passed it on easily to Megan. Now was her time.

“PINOE!” she screamed, putting her hand up. “NOW!”

The blonde midfielder didn’t need to be told twice, she faked a defender, looked up and sent a ball up in the air. Alex knew if she tried to control it with her feet she wouldn’t make it. So instead she ran even with the defender and then jumped up, feeling the contact of the ball in her head, then fell, due to the defender not expecting Alex to jump.

All Alex heard was the roar of the crowd. She hadn’t even seen her goal go into the net. Megan was the first one to her, helping her up and then pulling her into a tight hug. Suddenly her teammates swarmed her, screaming praises. A big grin appeared on her face, she did her job. Her eyes searched the crowd and found Tobin. She pointed to her pink pre-wrap and winked.

 

The minutes rolled by and Tobin watched as Alex struggled to get her goal that she so desperately and obviously wanted. She looked over to the sidelines to see a substitution was about to be made, Tobin only hoped Alex could get her goal before her time was up. A smaller brunette middie dribbled around the other team who passed it to a girl with crazy blonde hair. Suddenly before a single breath could be taken or given, the ball met Alex’s head and everyone including Tobin jumped up in pure elation. Tobin grinned ear to ear, allowing herself to join in the chanting of Alex’s name. Not only did her school just clinch a win, but that win was secured by Alex. The girl looked over at her and pointed to her pink prewrap with a wink. Tobin felt her face get hot and suddenly felt stupid wearing sunglasses in the dark of the evening. It was a rare thing for her to ever feel stupid, she was an unspoken genius after all, let alone to feel stupid from some girl. Tobin had always assumed crushes were ‘stupid’ and that she would never have one. Yet the girl couldn’t deny the butterflies in her stomach and the undeniable smile plastered on her face. The coach subbed Alex after her goal but it didn’t seem to faze the girl as she sat down on the bench with a smile.

The game ended 2-1 with Alex’s goal being the gamewinner. Tobin waited unsure of whether or not she should try and talk to the girl after the game. She weighed the pros and cons in her head, and just as she was about to make a decision her thought process was interrupted by a higher pitched voice.

“You’re Tobin right?” Christen asked with a big grin on her face

Tobin turned around to meet Christen’s light hazel eyes, starkly different than the light blue she was expecting or rather hoping to see.

“Uhhh, yeah?” Tobin questioned as she put out her hand to the girl.

“Christen” she said as she took Tobin’s hand.

“Great game out there!” Tobin said unsure of where the conversation was heading.

“Thanks big soccer fan?”

“It’s actually my first game” Tobin stated.

“Well make sure it’s not your last!” Christen said.

Tobin felt a natural blush coming to her face again, she wasn’t sure if the girl was flirting with her or just being nice.

There was an allure to her but Alex was still the star in Tobin’s eyes.

“You’re looking at the team’s newest #1 fan, I’ll be back for sure!” Tobin exclaimed

Christen grinned and was about to continue their conversation until she heard her name being called by a teammate. “I should go. I guess I’ll see you at the next game.” She gave a little wave before jogging back to her teammates as Coach gave his final words of the game.

Alex had been at an all time high after her goal. Tobin was there, she scored the game winner, everything seemed to be going right. As soon as the whistle blew, she had planned on making her way to Tobin, but she was being swarmed by teammates who were thanking her for her goal because of the opponent’s goal scored in injury time. She laughed along with them, happy to finally feel at peace. As everyone began to peel away to get their waters and gatorades, Alex turned and began to walk to where she saw Tobin earlier, but then stopped in her tracks when she saw Tobin in conversation with the one person who could ruin her day.

_Christen._

Alex watched the exchange, trying her best not to let herself get angry. She didn’t like the way Tobin laughed at what Christen said, or smiled as they talked. Why couldn’t Alex have one night to herself?

“Hey, isn’t that the chick you were talking to the other day?” Kelley asked, seeming to pop out of nowhere.

“Can you stop doing that?!” Alex whined, slapping her best friend on the shoulder. “And yeah, it is.”

“Hmmm...little Press seems interested,” the defender commented.

“Yeah,” the brunette muttered. “She does.”

“Come on Al, Coach wants to talk to the team before we leave.” She tugged on the taller girl’s arm and Alex reluctantly followed, her eyes peeling away from Tobin and Christen’s exchange.

Christen joined a few moments later and Alex had to try to hide her annoyed expression. She listened as Coach sent praises her way and the team hollered and hit Alex in congratulations. She was itching to check if Tobin was still around, but Coach seemed to be taking forever. Finally, he released them and most of the players returned into the locker room to gather their things, but Alex stayed back. Just finished off her water bottle, tossing it into the trash. When she was about to turn to join her teammates, a chill voice stopped her.

 

“Nice assist superstar” Tobin said coolly

“You’re not going to congratulate me on my goal?” Alex asked, quirking an eyebrow, but she had to hold in a grin when she realized Tobin had been paying attention to her during the majority of the game.

“Well I figured everyone would be patting you on the back for your goal, but a goal would be nothing without the assist, so yes, congratulations on that beautiful assist!” Tobin smirked loving the way she could cause Alex’s eyebrow to shoot up in a matter of seconds.

Alex’s cheeks immediately tinted pink, but she was grateful for the fact she had played almost the full 90 so it could be mistaken for the fact she’d been playing hard. “Well thanks,” she smiled. “You know, I think this pre-wrap is working out for me.”

“I knew pink was your color” Tobin confidently said. “and besides the messy ponytail look really only works for bums like me!” she stated.

The forward had to crack a laugh at the words coming out of Tobin’s mouth. “Oh, aren’t you just the funniest person ever,” Alex rolled her eyes. “So, how was your first school volleyball game?” She managed to keep a straight face as she said it, crossing her arms.

Tobin couldn’t help but smile wide at the girl’s seriousness of the question

“It was great! I was impressed, in a game of all arms, you managed to only use your feet!” Tobin said going along with the running joke.

Alex giggled, shaking her head as her and Tobin just kind of looked at each other for a moment. She was tempted to invite her to go eat or something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

“Alex!” Kelley was the one who broke them out of their little trance. “Are you coming home with me or not?”

“Oh yeah,” Alex nodded, suddenly annoyed at Kelley for interrupting...whatever this was. “I’ll see you around, Tobin.”

Tobin’s spirits sunk a little as the freckled girl beckoned Alex to leave, she was enjoying the conversation and the innocent banter between the two.

“Hey if you’re going to be at the beach tomorrow, don’t be wearing any fancy perfume or makeup” Tobin said giving the girl one last smile

Alex raised an eyebrow at her for a moment, but it quickly dropped as she returned the smile. “All natural it is, I guess. Good night,” she waved before running after Kelley.

“Here, I grabbed your shit for you,” Kelley told her, tossing her the bag.

“Thanks,” Alex mumbled, slinging the duffle bag on as she contemplated Tobin’s words. So was this a date or just simply going to the beach as friends? She wasn’t sure and it was sort of driving her insane.

“What was that about?” Kelley once again broke into Alex’s thoughts.

“What?” she asked innocently.

The shorter girl frowned. “You and that girl. Seemed pretty interesting, whatever it was.”

“Oh Tobin? That’s nothing,” Alex shrugged, hiding a smile. “She’s just a friend.”

“Right,” Kelley nodded, looking at Alex strangely. “Hey, when did you say you met her?”

“A few days ago, why?”

Kelley’s eyebrows shot up. “Is she the reason for your sudden good moods?”

Alex let out a laugh she prayed was believable enough. “Please Kel, you’re being stupid.” She waited for Kelley to unlock her doors before throwing her bag in the trunk. “Tobin has nothing to do with it.”

“You sure?”

“Positive,” she nodded, hopping into the passenger's seat. That was so not true.

 

_

 

Tobin walked back to her car with a permanent grin on her face. She wasn’t sure if Alex’s comment meant she was really going to show up the next morning but she sure hoped it did.

 

Tobin walked into her house, the smile still stuck on her tanned face.

“Oh good you’re home! Just in time for dinner” Mrs. Heath said as she greeted her daughter by the door.

“What did we say about being at the beach so late?” Mr. Heath said as soon as Tobin sat down at the table.

“I wasn’t at the beach, I went to a soccer game” Tobin explained.

“A soccer game?” Jeff asked as he chimed in in between mouthfuls of food.

“Yup, I have a friend on the team” Tobin said trying to contain the happiness the statement gave her.

“Who?!” Jeff exclaimed in shock

Taken aback Tobin shrugged. “um her name’s Alex?”

“Alex Morgan???!” Jeff nearly shouted almost falling out of his chair.

“Do you know her?” Tobin asked puzzled by her brother’s reaction.

“She’s only the hottest girl in this school district, and she’s a beast at soccer, of course I know who she is!” he stated as if the answer was obvious

Tobin was left speechless prompting her brother to continue.

“Why would you be friends with her though??”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Tobin asked angry now at the suggestion that her and Alex couldn’t be friends.

“I mean you’re a surfer girl and she’s a jock….ya know ..just doesn’t usually go together” Jeff explained

“I’ll have you know there’s more to me than that ‘surfer girl’ and there’s more to Alex than just ‘that soccer star’” Tobin said defending her friendship or whatever it was between her and Alex.

“Okay” Jeff said unconvinced. “Well when’s the next time you’ll see her?” he asked.

“Tomorrow morning actually!” Tobin said throwing it back at her brother.

“Where?”

“uhh the beach…” Tobin said a little softer.

“Ahah! You see, I bet you’ve only talked to each other on the beach or the soccer pitch….I would put money on it!” Jeff said.

“No! we’ve talked….um...in a ...parking lot before!” Tobin stated now growing more unsure of what was going on between her and Alex.

 

Tobin tried to sleep that night but she couldn’t help but let her brother’s words get to her.

What if her and Alex were too different? What if they couldn’t break the ‘status quo’ and be friends? What if what Tobin was feeling was more than friendship?

 

-

 

Alex slept like a baby. Though Christen had dampened her spirits a bit, that was quickly cleaned up after Alex’s game-clinching goal and her conversation with Tobin. Her body buzzed with excitement as she thought of the promise of seeing Tobin tomorrow. No Christen. No teammates. No Kelley. Just her and Tobin and the beach. She liked that. It was something she could get used too.

The game had worn her out, though, so when she heard the blare of her alarm earlier than usual, she almost hit snooze before recalling her...date?...with Tobin. Her eyes immediately shot open and she slid out of bed. Turning off her alarm, she made her way clumsily to her closet.

“Shit, why didn’t I pick out an outfit last night?” Alex muttered to herself, frantically searching for the right clothes to wear. She frowned, knowing if she dressed up it would be strange for beach attire and she’d be too lazy to change outfits in between the beach and school. Thinking quick, Alex finally decided on some nike leggings and a nike t-shirt. It seemed fitting enough to her, or well, she hoped it was fitting enough. Pulling on socks and some free runs, she made her way into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. After brushing her hair to where it looked reasonably okay - there were still some waves in it, but Alex decided to let those go, she immediately grabbed her makeup bag, but then stopped short remembering Tobin’s request.

The thought made her nervous. She always had makeup on. Even during games. She had to have makeup on her - even if it was just mascara. Frowning, she put her makeup bag back and then unplugged her phone from the charger. Checking the time, she once again left a note on the fridge, letting her parents know she’d gone somewhere before school started.

 

The whole ride there, Alex couldn’t seem to sit still in the driver’s seat. What time was she even supposed to be there? What if she was too late? She didn’t even have the girl’s number so she couldn’t ask for clarification. She fiddled with the radio too much, she drove just a little bit faster. Everything was on edge with Alex and she was unsure of how to treat this. A date? Two friends hanging out? She ran out of time to think as she realized she was in the parking lot. As soon as the shut off the engine, she forced herself to take a deep breath.

 _Alex, calm down. It’s just Tobin_ , she thought to herself. But then she laughed out loud. _Yeah, just Tobin._

She finally was able to get herself to step out of her car five minutes later, carefully walking along the sand to find the surfer who had come to occupy her mind. She searched the waves, but found no sign of her. She searched the people on the sand, no luck either. Frowning and perhaps beginning to panic on the inside, she set herself down on the sand, hugging her legs and pulling them against her chest. She watched the waves rise and fall. _Tobin, where are you?_

 

Tobin stared at her blank ceiling, it hadn’t changed in the last 8 hours that she had been in the same spot looking at the same thing. She still hadn’t figured out what her feelings toward Alex were. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn’t hear her alarm clock blare at the usual 5:45 AM. She slowly closed her eyes as the annoying noise filled her ears and the sunlight brightened her once dark bedroom.

She threw on her usual attire, a baggy shirt and soccer shorts. She grabbed an apple and hopped in her car. She noticed her cross swaying in the morning breeze as she rolled her windows down. The words of her brother wouldn’t escape her, even as she pulled up to her spot. She scanned the beach for the girl. Her blank stare that had been etched on her face quickly changed as she saw Alex’s brunette locks glistening in the sun. “Screw it” she said aloud with a smile.

She slowly walked over, seeing that Alex didn’t notice her yet, she got ready to surprise the girl. She crouched down and had to clench her jaw to keep from laughing and giving herself away.

“ALEX!” she shouted as she grabbed the girl’s sides from behind.

Alex had been absentmindedly chewing her bottom lip while checking her phone every three seconds. She suddenly felt a pair of hands grabbing her sides and her name being yelled. The brunette screamed in surprise and grabbed the arms in attempt to push them away. She looked up then let out a breath. “You fucking scared me!”

“I couldn’t resist, it was too easy!” Tobin said as she fell down next to the girl in a fit of laughter.

As her giggles - she was a bit ticklish there - calmed down, she slapped Tobin’s tanned arm. “Jerk.” She pouted, crossing her arms and turning her brows into a scowl.

“Ouch! You’re the jerk!” Tobin said as she stuck out her bottom lip and rubbed her arm .

“You’re the one who decided it’d be a fun idea to scare me this early in the morning,” Alex reminded her.

“You’re the one on my beach! I had the right to scare you!” Tobin said with a mocking laugh.

Alex gives her a look, but there’s a ghost of a smile playing her lips. “Your beach? Last time I checked, this wasn’t called ‘Tobin Beach’.”

“Yes it is! There just isn’t a sign yet!” ...she paused to think…”Hey! But it isn’t called ‘Alex Morgan’s beach’ either! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were looking for someone on this beach….”

The younger girl only laughed in response. “Sure, Tobin. Whatever floats your boat.”

“Admit it, you can’t resist me” Tobin said jokingly as she stood up and did a 360 for the girl.

This caused more laughter on Alex’s end. “Sit down you dork, you’re embarrassing me!” She reached over and grabbed Tobin’s wrist, pulling her back down onto the sand next to her.

Tobin felt the strong pull of Alex on her wrist, and fell almost entirely on the girl. She laughed out of embarrassment and awkwardness of their positioning until she opened her eyes to see how close their faces were. She suddenly had an urge to lean down and kiss the girl before her. Maybe it was her light blue eyes, maybe it was the look in them that said ‘ _I want this too_ ’. Tobin shot up soon after the thought entered her head, she nervously laughed it off and resumed to her original spot next to the girl. She didn’t dare look over at Alex for fear that she had made things weird.

“Sorry….you see what happens when you use violence…” Tobin joked hoping to recover what she thought was the ultimate awkward situation.

Alex should’ve known tugging on Tobin was a bad idea. The girl didn’t weigh much so it was easy to bring her down. All she felt was her back hitting the ground and a new weight on top of her. She laughed a little, but then her laughter soon subsided as she realized Tobin was on top of her. She bit her lip out of habit, noticing that if she tilted up just a little bit, she’d kiss Tobin. The thought of it made Alex dizzy, and the warm brown eyes gazing intently at her weren’t helping either. All too soon, Tobin’s weight shifted off of her and Alex scrambled to sit back up. She laughed along with Tobin’s laughing, brushing sand off of her arms.

“No, uh, it’s fine,” she mumbled. It was more than fine.

 

Tobin coughed before quickly bringing something, anything else up “So uh, are you good friends with that Christen girl?” She said not knowing what else to say.

At this, Alex looked at her curiously. “Christen? Um...I mean, we’re teammates, but I wouldn’t really consider ourselves friends, I guess.” Something was churning in the pit of her stomach. Why was she interested in Christen?

“Oh, I see, well she seems really nice.” Tobin stated still focused on the almost-kiss that happened moments ago.

Alex’s jaw set at the statement as she tried not to show emotion after hearing that. She only hummed in response, not looking at Tobin.

Tobin noticed an immediate change in Alex as the mention of Christen came up, she decided not to address it.

“So...plan on coming to anymore games?” Alex asked. She smiled at Tobin’s response, the awkwardness from that almost-kiss and tension from the mention of Christen fading away as they found their playful and content state once again.

All too soon, Alex sighed as she checked her phone. “We should probably head off to school now.”

 

Tobin let out a breath as she looked in her rearview mirror at Alex’s car following behind her. She knew the route to school perfectly but she naturally went slower to make sure she didn’t lose Alex.

Alex didn’t mind the fact that she and Tobin were constantly driving at speed limit or lower. She couldn’t see her, but she knew that Tobin was trying to make sure they got to school on time together, and Alex found that really adorable. Finally, they made it and both went to their respective parking spots. She hopped out of her car and slung her backpack along with her practice bag over her shoulders and hurried into school to beat the first bell.

Tobin slowly got out of her car slinging her bag haphazardly over one of her shoulders completing her ‘slacker’, ‘i don’t care’ look she had become known for. She watched as Alex hurried into school to beat the first bell. She smiled and shook her head finding the girl’s punctuality rather cute. As she left the parking lot she noticed a nice car pull up fast. She then watched as a girl unidentifiable jumped out of the car with her bag in tow. Tobin called out as the girl’s belongings spilled everywhere.

“Hey wait!”

Tobin began to backtrack and pick up the girl’s notebooks for her. It wasn’t until she was practically next to her that she saw it was Christen.

 


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's something about the one, that makes the other better - unless, of course, something disrupts the peace.

“Dropped something..” Tobin remarked as she handed the last book to the girl.

Christen met Tobin’s soft brown eyes and let out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m clumsy sometimes. Thanks.” She took the book in her hand and stood, wiping off her jeans.

“We all have our moments” Tobin said returning a smile.

“Hey, you got a little sand on your shirt,” the taller girl pointed to a spot on Tobin’s shoulder where grains of sand were still visible.

“Early morning beach bummin y’know?” Tobin said as she shrugged and wiped the sand from her shoulder.

Christen nodded in approval. “Figured you were a surfer.”

“Ah nice, figured you were a smart one..” Tobin said as the two began to walk into school.

“Hmm, I guess taking two AP classes might help,” she grinned at the older girl.

“Whoaaa an AP soccer player, and an AP student, you’re all about that advanced placement life!” Tobin joked.

Christen laughed, her tone a slight pitch higher than usual. “Pretty sure there’s no such thing as an AP soccer player.”

“I’m pretty sure there is...if there isn’t I think you and Alex could make it a ‘thing’!” Tobin said unaware of the growing rivalry between the two teammates.

The soccer player gave an easy smile, but there was the slightest change in her tone as she replied, “Maybe we could. Hey, I need to go turn in a project so I’ll see you around Tobin.”

“See ya around!” Tobin said not picking up on the slight change in Christen’s tone and demeanor.

_

 

Two hours later, Alex found herself staring at her notebook that had only half a page of notes. There was no way she could focus in her psychology class. The teacher kept droning on and on about some personal story that she could care less about. All she wanted to do was go to the beach and hopefully find Tobin there.

After what seemed like forever, the teacher finally finished his lecture, allowing the last few minutes to the students to do as they please in the class until the bell rang. Alex rested her head on her desk, just wanting the bell to ring so she could go to lunch. It didn’t help that Christen was in her class and today decided she was going to be unusually giddy.

 

It had been two hours but Christen was already thinking of ways to run into Tobin again. The chill surfer girl had captured her attention, a feat many guys had tried and failed at. She had remained happy since the interaction hours earlier.

“I think I’m going to try my hand at surfing..” Christen said to her friends not knowing Alex was within earshot or that the girl would even associate the topic with Tobin.

At the sound of the word “surfing”, Alex’s head shot up. A second later, she recognized the voice. Curiously, she turned to Christen, casually entering the conversation. “What makes you want to try it?”

Shocked that Alex was one to strike up conversation with her during class, Christen replied “I don’t know, seems like a cool hobby to take up..” she said not giving away that the real reason being she wanted to impress Tobin.

Alex nodded slowly, not sure if she should believe the freshman. “Sounds interesting. Just don’t get hurt, we kind of need you,” she forced a smile, knowing even though it was wrong, she’d secretly enjoy the star freshman on the bench instead of on the field.

“I’ll have to find a good teacher..is all.” Christen remarked letting out a knowing smile as if she knew exactly what Alex was thinking.

“Guess you will,” the older girl shrugged as she heard the bell ring. Something wasn’t right. She felt it in her gut. Christen was no good, but what could it be this time?

_

 

It was lunchtime and Tobin was sitting with her usual crew. There was her best friend Lauren or ‘Cheney’ as she called her, Amy or ‘Arod’, And Becky or ‘Broon’ as everyone called her. The three girls were nothing like Tobin other than the fact that they were all near geniuses. Tobin had the uncanny ability to make friends with most people and this group was no different. She had grown up with Cheney, and no one knew her better than her curly haired friend.

“Something’s up with you, isn’t it?” Cheney asked suspicious of Tobin

“What?” Tobin asked with a mouthful of pb and j.

“Who’s the guy?!” Arod excitedly piped up

“There’s no guy!” Tobin defended herself but could tell her cheeks were turning an uncharacteristically bright red.

“Okay spill!” the three said at the same time, all eager to hear about their friend’s love life.

“Really! There’s no guy!” Tobin said again as she swallowed her sandwich.

“A girl?! oooo scandalous!” Amy said finding too much fun in the conversation.

Before Tobin could deny or turn any redder, Alex had walked up to the table. Everyone turned to her unsure of why the soccer star was paying any attention to the ‘smart girls’ table. The three turned their attention from Alex to Tobin as they soon realized she was there to talk to their friend. Amy’s jaw dropped and Cheney had to cover her friends mouth to make sure she didn’t say anything that would further embarrass Tobin.

Tobin looked at Amy and shook her head as if she knew exactly what the smaller girl was thinking. She then looked to Alex as she tried to compose herself

“Hey what’s up?”

“Hey,” Alex smiled, but then her words seemed lost to her. It wasn’t because of her stupid crush on Tobin this time. It was because Tobin’s friends were there and listening. “Uh...I was wondering if you’d be um...at the beach later…”

The comments from her brother returned to Tobin as she noticed Alex turn uncomfortable at the situation.

“Uhh yeah i’ll be there! You?” Tobin asked hoping the answer would be yes.

The younger one bit her lip, still feeling the eyes of Tobin’s friends on her. It was strange when it wasn’t just her and Tobin in earshot - very strange. “Um, I guess we’ll see,” Alex shrugged, giving Tobin a mysterious smile, her eyes lighting up a little. “See you.” She turned on her heels, walking over to her table filled with her teammates.

Tobin did everything to keep it together as she watched Alex bite her lip. She was so mesmerized by the girl’s smile and gaze that she almost didn’t even hear what she said.

Snapping out of it with a cough she coolly replied “See ya superstar”

Tobin turned back to her friends, Lauren still holding her hand over amy’s mouth finally let go.

The smaller girl immediately outburst “That’s the girl? Alex Morgan??! Oh my gosh!” Amy exclaimed.

“What was that??” Lauren added curious as to what was going on.

“Guys, guys, we’re just friends” Tobin stated

“Yeah...okay, and i’m also not a nerd” Becky said matter of factly

“Yeah Tobs, it’s written all over your face , hate to break it to you” Cheney said

“Tobin and Alex sitting on the beach K-I-S-S-I -” Amy began to sing

“NOPE, ah i gotta go to class , see ya goons later” Tobin said hurrying off to escape her friend’s teasing.

 

As Alex took her seat, Sydney was immediately onto her. “What was that about?”

“What?” Alex asked rather innocently, grabbing her salad she had left before getting up.

“Oh _please_ ,” Sydney rolled her eyes, irritated at Alex’s response. “Like it’s normal of you to go up them and talk  regularly.”

“Maybe it is,” the brunette pouted.

“Yeah Al, what was that?” Heather chimed in. “I’ve never seen you talk to them before.”

“Guys, she wasn’t talking to _them_ ,” Kelley explained before Alex could respond. “She was talking to a _her_.”

“Who? That surfer chick?” Sydney asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Wait, the one from our game?” Megan piped up, her mouth full as she spoke.

Alex wrinkled her nose. “Close your mouth, Pinoe.”

“Oops,” she mumbled before chewing and swallowing. “But dude, the one that was at our game the other night?”

“Mhmm,” Kelley nodded as she chewed.

“Oh, she was kinda cute,” Megan grinned, giving her approval.

“What? No, we’re just friends,” Alex explained in between salad bites.

“Why?” Sydney asked, frowning.

“Why not?” Alex answered, crossing her arms.

“Just saying, doesn’t seem like the type of person you’d talk to at all,” Sydney shrugged, sensing Alex’s defensive walls rising.

“Well there’s no ‘type of person’ I talk to anyway.”

“Pretty sure she has a crush,” Kelley muttered, stabbing her food with her fork.

“On surfer chick!?” Sydney dropped her food.

“Kelley!” Alex scolded, giving her a good whack on the arm before turning to her fellow forward. “No. No. I don’t. We’re just friends.” Her heart was racing faster as her eyes widened just a little.

“Right…” Kelley nodded, but rolled her eyes. There was no way she believed the girl.

“It’s true!” Alex groaned, smacking her forehead in frustration.

“Well she _is_ cute,” Megan pointed out, her mouth full once again.

“Idiots,” Alex sighed. “I’m surrounded by idiots.” But she tried to keep the blush from rising to her cheeks and was afraid they could see right through her. Thankfully, the subject changed rather quickly thanks to Hope.

_

 

Tobin walked to her car after the last bell ended. She looked to see Alex’s car was still in it’s spot from this morning. She wondered if she should wait for the girl but decided that would seem too creepy and obvious. She decided to head to the beach for some peace and also just in case Alex showed up.  

She stopped on the way to pick up an ice cream from her favorite place. Tobin wasn’t sure how long she was going to be at the beach or how long she would wait for Alex, but she figured it was a perfect day to treat herself to an ice cream cone.

She stepped onto the familiar sand and looked around at the still barren beach. She went over to her favorite spot and took a seat as she watched the tide roll in and out.

She jumped a little as she heard a voice behind her

“You got ice cream and didn’t invite me?” Alex quirked an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on her face. She hadn’t been sure what time Tobin would get there, but when she saw Tobin’s car not occupying her parking spot, she knew the girl was gone. She’d just arrived a couple of minutes ago, wandering the beach for the tanned girl she seemed to never get enough of.

“You want some?” Tobin asked as she licked the ice cream.

Alex thought for a moment then took a seat next to her. “Depends on what kind it is.”

“Mint chocolate chip of course!” Tobin said with a wide grin making herself look like a small child.

The soccer player couldn’t help but giggle at how adorable Tobin looked at that moment, especially with ice cream on the corners of her mouth. “Hmmm, guess it’ll have to do.”

“Nope! You can’t have my ice cream!” Tobin said with an even bigger smile as she leapt up and ran away from the girl.

Alex let out a groan, thankful that she hadn’t had soccer practice so she wasn’t exhausted. “Tobin!” She hopped up, running after the older girl.

Tobin laughed as she realized she would never be able to outrun the soccer star. She swerved side to side as if she was carrying a football to a touchdown as she dodged the girl right on her heels. Finally she felt two strong arms come around her stomach. She felt herself losing her balance as the familiarity of that morning was replaying itself.

Tobin cracked up as she laid on her back, the ice cream all over her face as it fell in the tackle. Alex was laughing so hard that she ended up having to roll off of Tobin, clutching her stomach in fits of laughter after seeing the ice cream all over Tobin’s face, now mixed with sand.

“Oh my god,” Alex managed to say in between fits. She clutched her stomach even harder as she tried to calm herself down, but it was hard to do that when every time she looked at Tobin, her face was decorated with ice cream.

“I- I feel like I have something on my face” Tobin said barely able to breathe from the laughing that ensued.

The statement only made Alex laugh hard once more as she began to calm down. “Y-yeah, you kinda do!”

Tobin sat up finally able to compose herself despite the mess of ice cream all over her face, she sighed “Well now neither of us has ice cream!”

“Well, it looks fair to me,” Alex smirked at her, wiping sand off of her arms as she sat up as well.

Tobin quickly wiped Alex’s face with the ice cream she had on her hand “Now we’re fair!” the girl said with a satisfied look on her face.

Alex’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she felt the ice cream smear all over her face. “Tobin!” she shrieked.

“You should wear mint more often...looks good on you!” Tobin stated making sure to push all of the younger girl’s buttons.

The forward’s eyes became piercing blue daggers as they turned to Tobin. “Don’t even think about it,” she muttered, but her mouth twitched, hinting that she was fighting off a smile.

Tobin grinned as she saw the girl trying to fight her smile from her comment.

“Here hang on I think I have a tissue” Tobin said as she reached into her pocket.

“Say cheese!” She exclaimed as she quickly snapped a photo with her phone.

“Tobin!” Alex screamed, giving her a good whack on the arm before reaching over to try to snatch the phone away.

“Now everyone’s going to know, Alex Morgan, star volleyball player eats her ice cream like a 4 year old!” Tobin let out as she moved her phone away from Alex’s reach.

The younger girl pouted, still attempting to get her hands on the phone. “Tobin, come on!”

Tobin leaped up to avoid the girl’s attempts.

“Okay I just sent it to all of your contacts!” She yelled as she ran down the beach a little. She laughed as the girl’s serious expression scared the living daylights out of her but intrigued her all at the same time.

“Why so serious Lex?” Tobin said letting out the nickname as if she had been saying it for years.

As Alex ran after the girl, her steps faltered when she heard the nickname. She raised an eyebrow curiously, stopping in her tracks. “Did you just call me ‘Lex’?”

Tobin stopped running confused at the girl’s sudden attention to the nickname she had given her.

“Yea?” Tobin questioned curiously.

The forward paused for a moment, looking at Tobin a moment longer before saying, “No one’s ever called me that.”

Feeling embarrassed now as she figured Alex didn’t like the name, Tobin backtracked

“Oh sorry -uh i’ll have to remember that”- Tobin paused before returning to her not-so-serious self - “Glad you told me now...how am I supposed to cheer for the star volleyball player with the wrong name?”

Alex shook her head quickly, realizing Tobin took her answer the wrong way. “No no, I like it...I really like it,” Especially coming from you, she thought. “I just...it’s new to me so it took a moment for me to understand.”

Tobin turned her head down so the girl wouldn’t see her face getting redder by the second. It was a rare thing for Tobin to get embarrassed or shy but Alex was causing her to feel all sorts of new things.

“I’m glad...Lex it is then!” Tobin said with a smirk as she threw her phone back to the girl.

Alex’s hands stumbled to catch the phone, a warm feeling running through her body as Tobin called her by her nickname again. She gave her a smile in return, her cheeks tinting pink. She knew this was the start of something, but she wasn’t sure what.

 

The beach soon became a routine for the two, every day early in the morning or in the afternoon if Alex didn’t have a long practice. Tobin hadn’t been to any games, because they’d all been away lately, but Alex did receive good luck texts from her before every single one. Everyone could notice the change in the forward. She was lighter in her step somehow when she walked, she was even faster on the field, fire ignited her even in practice. Kelley had a feeling on what it was, but she didn’t share the information with any friends. Alex was back on her game, she was a goal scoring machine like she always was, and she had Tobin to thank for that.

 

Tobin stupidly smiled at her phone as she read one of Alex’s texts to her. The girl had been texting the forward nonstop for the past few weeks. They were simple messages and soon came to be expected but Tobin’s heart still seemed to skip a beat every time she opened a new text from the girl. As she opened the reply message, she haphazardly bumped into someone as her focus was solely on the text.

“Watch where you’re going!” Christen said as she turned around to see the culprit. “Oh Tobin….” She said, her voice quickly changing tones as her light hazel eyes met Tobin’s darker brown.

“Sorry Christen!” Tobin said as she turned to continue on her way.

“Uh Tobin -Wait!” Christen exclaimed as she ran to catch up to her.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something” Christen said suddenly turning shyer as her voice grew softer.

“Yea, what’s up?” Tobin said flashing her signature smile.

“Could you-I mean you can totally say no… but..uh.. could you teach me how to surf?” Christen let out sounding relieved.

“Me? I don’t know how good of a teacher I am but yeah of course!” Tobin said taken aback by the girl’s request.

“Realy? Awesome! I’m sure you’re a great teacher….I’ll let you know..” Christen said as she turned back the other way all the while biting her lip at her last comment.

Tobin was oblivious to most things but she saw that lip bite and she wasn’t sure how she should be feeling about it. Surely Alex was the girl on her mind, but how could Alex Morgan ever like her back?  

“Meet me at the pier tomorrow afternoon at around 5!” Tobin called to the girl as the two parted ways.

As soon as Tobin turned around she resumed her message to Alex.

 

**“Yo Lex...You’ll never guess who just asked me for surf lessons.”**

 

Alex was in the middle of being entertained by Kelley and HAO’s latest argument which she didn’t even know what it was about. She wore an amused expression as she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. Grinning, she looked down, pleased that the text was from Tobin. As she read the message, an inquisitive expression took her face. The conversation she had with Christen weeks ago long forgotten.

 

**“Who?”**

  
  


Tobin smiled at Alex’s fast reply. She quickly typed out her response not realizing how it would affect the star forward.

 

**“Christen Press! Crazy huh?”**

 

“No HAO! You’re totally wrong!” Kelley shouted.

Heather only rolled her eyes, scoffing. “No, I _know_ I’m right.”

Alex shook her head at the two. “Can we just agree to disagree?”

“NO!” They both answered before returning to their argument.

“Well I tried,” Alex muttered, feeling her phone vibrate again. She quickly opened her new message, itching to know the answer. Her expression quickly dropped as her eyes scanned the words. The conversation had suddenly come back to her and her jaw tightened.

“Al, you okay?” Heather asked, noticing Alex’s sudden change in expression while Kelley was ranting.

At this, Kelley turned to face her best friend, then frowned. “What’s wrong?” She noticed the phone in her hand, and knew this had something to do with the surfer girl her friend was madly falling for.

“Nothing,” Alex muttered, shaking her head. “I’ll see you guys at lunch.” She turned and left, quickly typing back a reply.

 

**“Yeah, real crazy.”**

 

She put the phone in her pocket, not wanting to see a reply.

 

Tobin opened the new message as she got to her car. Her smile faded as she read Alex’s less than enthusiastic response. _She must be busy_ Tobin thought as she texted the girl back hoping her next text would elicit a better response.

 

**“If you’re not busy tomorrow afternoon, you should join us! We’ll be out on the water at around 5, the usual spot :) “**

 

Tobin then got in her car not thinking much more about Christen asking her for surf lessons or Alex’s lack of response. She wasn’t used to worrying about the details, Tobin was a bigger picture kind of girl, she always had been. She didn’t understand details, _so why worry now?_ she thought.

 


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surfing lessons make her sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took awhile for us to update! Our schedules haven't given us both free time at the same time, but we were able to write some and get it out to you! OH and make usre you tell Kate (uswnt5ever on tumblr) a happy belated birthday! (her birthday was last weekend)

Throughout the day, Alex was much quieter than usual. All her friends picked up on it, especially Kelley, who knew more than anyone else what this could possibly be about. Alex was too deep in her thoughts. She wondered how much of whatever was going on between her and Tobin was serious. She’d been so wrapped up in the idea of Tobin that she hadn’t been able to take a step back and analyze her situation.

“Hey, is this about that girl?” Kelley asked in Physics that day.

“What girl?” Alex asked, but she knew what Kelley was talking about.

The defender frowned, poking her friend’s shoulder. “You know, the surfer girl? Her name’s like...Tony or something?”

“Tobin,” Alex immediately corrected.

“Yeah, her. Is this something to do with her?”

The forward sighed, shrugging. “Kel, since when has Pressie been friends with her?”

“They’re friends?” Kelley asked, looking at her strangely.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Alex pouted. “I don’t know..”

“Hey,” the shorter girl said, patting Alex’s knee. “You’re over thinking whatever this is, Al. Just let it go. Come on, we have practice in an hour then you’re home free.”

The forward managed a weak smile. “Thanks Kel.” But the thought of Christen Press at the beach with Tobin wasn’t something she could brush off.

 

Tobin had gone the whole day without texting Alex. It was unusual for the girl to not reply within a few hours. She looked at her ‘sent’ messages to make sure she had replied numerous times. She shrugged it off as she assumed the girl was just busy or she forgot to reply.

She leaned on the railing of the pier as she looked out along the beach waiting for Christen, Alex, or both.

She smiled as she heard a ‘hey’ behind her. She turned to find Christen in a surf shirt and bikini bottoms walking straight towards her with her charming smile blaring.

Tobin was a little deflated as she hoped it would be Alex, but she couldn’t deny that Christen looked great in surf attire.

“Are you expecting someone else?” Christen asked as Tobin seemed distracted by the cars pulling up behind her.

“Uh no, ready to get out there?” the tanned girl asked.

 

The two girls waded into the water with their surfboards.

“Okay so the first thing is trying to find balance on the board, so we’ll just stay shallow for right now...want to try hopping up and not falling off?” Tobin asked encouragingly.

“Like this?” Christen sang as she wobbled onto the board obviously losing her balance as she went.

“Yup steady yourself now” Tobin instructed.

She watched as the girl struggled to find her balance, she reached up to grab her firmly around her hips to keep her steady. Christen looked down to Tobin’s firm grip, an obvious blush coming to her face.

“There!” Tobin said as she slowly let go of the girl, proud that she had gotten the beginner this far.

 

Alex was so tempted to wipe the stupid smile off of Christen’s face during practice that day. The girl was joking around more than usual and it made the older forward sick to her stomach. A glare had taken place on her face, and her shots were just a bit harder than usual.

“What’s wrong Alex?” Megan asked her as she jogged back with a ball Alex had kicked too hard to catch at her feet. “You seem pissy.”

“Long day,” the forward muttered in response.

As the girls stripped out of their sweaty clothes in the locker room, Alex checked her phone, opening the message she had refused to look at all day. She sighed, fighting off a smile at the thought Tobin wanted her there. A locker door slammed, and Alex picked up her head to see Christen sprinting out of the locker room. Someone’s eager, Alex thought. After another few moments of internal debate, she finally decided she’d maybe just show up for a couple of minutes.

 

It actually took Alex twice as long to get to the beach as expected. She needed to take Kelley home, and then she decided to stop for a smoothie somewhere along the way so she didn’t lose her mind. The thought of Christen and Tobin at the beach wasn’t appealing to her at all, and that made her stomach churn. As she parked, she saw Tobin’s car there, but no sign of Christen. Well, she was a freshmen, so she didn’t even drive yet.

Taking a deep breath, Alex hopped out of her car, making her way to the place her and Tobin always met. She was scanning the ocean for them, hoping that for some reason, Christen hadn’t shown up or Tobin was by herself because she didn’t like Christen at all, when she found an unmistakably tall brunette on a surfboard with hands on her hips. Alex inhaled sharply as she noticed that the hands belonged to a golden-haired girl with her hair up in a ponytail. She knew without even having Tobin turn around that it was her. Alex suddenly felt like she was going to either cry or throw up or both in the next seconds, so she sprinted back to her car, not caring her legs would hurt a little more because she’d just had practice. Quickly getting into her car, she drove home, not being able to shake the image from her mind. The image of Tobin’s hands on Christen’s hips, and Christen’s blushing smile.

 

“Are you sure you’ve never done this before?” Tobin asked as she watched Christen ride the wave with ease.

“Nope! You must be a good teacher after all!” The girl said as she waded back to the older girl with an undeniable smile.

“Or you’re just a natural!” Tobin said oblivious to the flirting that was taking place between the two.

“Ah you flatter me, I’m no natural!” Christen demanded lightheartedly.

“Are too!” Tobin declared confidently

“Well..I think you’ll need to take me out surfing a few more times before we can settle this” Christen suggested.

“Yeah definitely! Always down for a sesh!” Tobin said.

 

The two walked out of the water, the two boards bumping into each other every few steps. Tobin looked around the pier and down the beach for a sign of Alex, to no avail.

“Hey was Alex at practice today?” Tobin asked a little worried about the striker.

Christen’s face dropped a little as Tobin brought up Alex but she smiled nonetheless.

“Yeah she was, why?”

“Just wondering, haven’t heard from her in awhile” Tobin said playing it off casually.

“Oh, yeah she seemed pissed about something today, I don’t know” Christen said truthfully as she was so caught up in her surf lesson with Tobin to be brought down by Alex’s sudden mood shift.

“Huh” Tobin let out as she wondered what had set off the girl.

The two had made it back to the parking lot where Tobin’s car was one of the only ones left.

Tobin looked around to see Christen unlocking her bike from the bike rack.

“Hey let me give you a ride, it’s too dark out here for you to ride back!” Tobin offered.

“Oh really? Thanks Tobs” Christen said flashing her shy but charming smile once again.

Tobin noticed the casual ‘Tobs’ that the girl used but thought nothing of it, other than remembering that’s what Alex had grown accustomed to calling her in the recent weeks.

 

“Alright just over there!” Christen said as she pointed to her house up ahead.

“Well hey thanks for a great day on the water!” Tobin said with a grin.

“I’m the one who asked you, remember silly?” Christen playfully replied.

“Well yeah, but still gotta say my thanks y’know!”

“Let’s do it again real soon okay?” Christen offered hoping Tobin would say sooner rather than later.

“Oh for sure! Pretty soon you’ll be able to add surfing to your extensive list of AP courses!” Tobin stated laughing at her own bad joke.

“Only if you’re my teacher” Christen said with a smirk.

“Pretty soon the student will become the teacher!”

“We’ll see about that Heath...I’ll see you soon?” Christen asked as she got out of the car with her bike in tow.

“You know where to find me” Tobin shrugged assuming most everyone knew she was a beach bum through and through.

“Alright, Good night!” Christen said not trying to hide her smile anymore.

“Night!” Tobin said. She watched the girl successfully get into her house before she pulled away. Her afternoon with Christen was a fun time, but her mind was still hung up on Alex. She wanted more than anything to know what had pissed the girl off so much that she wouldn’t respond to her text.

She pulled into her driveway and immediately dug through her bag to find her phone that she had been neglecting all afternoon. She saw that she had no new messages. Discouraged she decided to send another text to Alex.

 

**“Hey Lex, what’s up?”**

 

Alex was in the middle of typing up the rough draft of her essay. Once she’d gotten home, she dove into her homework as an outlet. She didn’t want to think about anything else, especially not Tobin or Christen. When her phone buzzed, she groaned, figuring it was Kelley and grabbed it to check the message. As soon as she noticed who the sender was, the image she’d been trying to avoid popped into her head once again, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut for a second. She didn’t want to talk to her.

 

**“Working on this killer essay, talk later?”**

 

Tobin fell on her bed, more tired from the day’s activities than she had initially thought. her eyes began to close and sleep was nearing until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Her heart raced as she hoped it would be Alex. She tapped the message to see it was from the forward. She let out a breath as she read the content of the text. _Well at least she responded..I guess_ she thought as she replied unenthused.

 

**“Ah good luck! I’m pretty tired but let’s talk tomorrow okay?”**

 

Just as she thought for a moment, Alex found the words she was looking for and began typing furiously when her phone buzzed again. Despite her mood, she quickly checked the message. She was a little disappointed, and then a little pissed at the fact she figured Tobin was tired due to her “surf lesson” with Christen. She shook her head, sighing.

 

**“Sure Tobin, see you tomorrow. Night.”**

 

The next morning, Alex’s alarm went off, but instead of going to the beach like she’d been doing all the time, she grabbed one of her soccer balls and headed out to the soccer park next to her house. It had been awhile since she’d come here to let out some steam, and “awhile” meant since she ran into Tobin at the beach. Now, Tobin was the reason she was out there. Lacing her cleats up, she began drilling shot after shot into a goal, then cursed herself for not asking Hope if she wanted to join her. She really could’ve used someone to block her shots. The thought of Tobin waiting for her at the beach made Alex falter for a moment, but then she remembered that Christen was more than willing to keep her company anyway, so she kept going.

An hour later, she was drilling one last ball into the goal before deciding she really needed to get to school. She changed into her other shoes and hopped into her car, checking her messages in hopes that Tobin was indeed looking for her, but was disappointed when she found nothing. Shaking her head, she started the engine and made her way to school, her thoughts clouded as ever.

Just as she got to her locker, Alex felt a figured appear next to her. It was too built to be Tobin’s and it was just a little bit taller than her to be Kelley, so she frowned and turned to find Servando, a long time family friend of hers.

“Hey Al,” he smiled, leaning against the other lockers casually.

Alex was relieved to see someone who wasn’t related to her soccer team or Tobin. She gave a small smile back. “Hi Serv, how are you?”

“Pretty good, I guess,” Servando shrugged. “You seem to look like you’ve been up and working this morning.”

At this, Alex’s hands immediately touched her hair as she grew conscious. She hadn’t even bothered to look in her car mirrors after being at the park for awhile.

The boy only chuckled, shaking her head. “No, no your hair isn’t messed up.”

“Then what is it?”

“Your cheeks. They’re a little flushed,” he explained. “You know, I’d say it’s because of me but…”

Alex laughed, rolling her eyes and giving him a soft punch to the arm. “Shut it.”

“Joking,” he grinned. “But really, you look cute even when you’re coming back from a work out or something.”

The striker blushed, giving him a shy smile. She was too mad at Tobin and too annoyed at Christen to even pick up on the guy’s subtle (or not so subtle) hints of flirting with her. She’d known Servando for years, and their banter had become something natural to her. What she failed to notice though, was Servando wasn’t always looking at her like a childhood friend.

  
  


Tobin stared at Alex’s message as she sat on the cool sand of their usual meeting spot, the promise of ‘see you tomorrow’ inferring that Alex might be at the beach that morning. She looked around at the empty beach feeling more and more hopeless by the minute. She whipped her head around as she heard a car pull up but sighed when she realized it wasn’t Alex.

 _I’ll give her 5 more minutes .._ she thought as she looked at her watch to see that it was almost a half hour past the time they usually met each other.

Tobin counted the waves as they rolled in as each minute painfully passed. She was sure it had been at least 5 minutes but she didn’t want to be wrong. She wanted more than anything to see Alex’s bright face, and for things to go back to the way they were. As she counted the hundredth wave she looked down to see that 10 minutes had passed. She took a  breath of the salty air before she jumped up and walked back to her car.

She started to drive to school but her curiosity got the best of her as she decided a drive-by of Alex’s house was harmless. Or at least that’s what she told herself. Alex lived in a nice neighborhood known for it’s nice soccer park that was only a five minute walk away. Tobin slowed her car as she passed by Alex’s house. Her curiosity peaked even more as she realized the girl was somewhere else besides the beach. It was too early for school to start and she didn’t meet Tobin that morning. Where is she? she thought as she turned around.

She decided that she would go to school and see if her car was in its’ usual spot.

 

Tobin pulled in to see that Alex hadn’t gotten there yet. She decided to go and study for her history test that she had later that day to get her mind off of the striker. She was deep into her studies when she heard the first bell ring. She jumped a little as she didn’t realize how much time had actually passed. She ran to her locker which was in the hallway adjacent to Alex’s locker. As she turned the corner she saw the girl at her locker looking a little worked up as she took her books out. “Le-” She began but stopped as she saw a darker haired athletic-looking guy approach Alex.

Her heart sunk as she watched Alex blush at whatever the guy was saying and her blood boiled as she realized Alex was reciprocating the flirting. Tobin wasn’t one to get jealous easily but something about the idea of Alex with this guy made her want to punch something hard. She sunk low as she joined a random group of people to hide her as she walked by the two talking. She let out a breath as she rounded the corner and made her way to her own locker.

  
  


It was the last class of the day and Tobin had been thinking about Alex and her new guy friend all morning and afternoon. She had resisted texting the forward but as slide after slide droned on during her government class she pulled out her phone in pure boredom.

 

**“The beach missed you this morning..and I guess I did too, what were you up to?”**

 

Alex turned in her quiz for her last class and let out a small breath of relief. Once she returned to her seat, she felt her phone buzz. Quickly making sure her teacher was preoccupied, she pulled it out and checked her messages. As soon as her eyes skimmed Tobin’s message, a small smile appeared on her face. She bit her lip, her anger and annoyance fading when she realized Tobin was waiting for her this morning (and a little guilt was there too). She quickly typed back a reply.

 

**“Sorry, I was at the soccer park in my neighborhood this morning. Game tomorrow so I need to be at the top of my game, you know?”**

 

Tobin smiled to herself as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She was glad that Alex was at least responding in a timely manner today. She was a little crestfallen as she realized Alex chose the soccer park over the beach but was equally impressed that the girl was so dedicated to her sport.

 

Before she could reply to Alex’s message a text from Christen popped on her screen.

**“Hope to see you at the game tomorrow Miss Heath :)”**

 

 **“I’ll be there!”** she replied.

 

She pulled her text from Alex back up to think about her response.

 

**“You’re always at the top of your game Lex! I’ll be there tomorrow though just in case you need a lucky charm y’know?”**

 

Alex waited impatiently for a response from Tobin, hoping she didn’t piss the girl off by not showing up that morning. Once her screen lit up, she didn’t bother hiding the smile on her face. It only widened when she actually read the reply from Tobin. Knowing she was going to be there made Alex that much more determined that her team had to play well.

 

**“Thanks Tobs. I was hoping you’d say that :) Pink pre-wrap and my favorite surfer...exactly what my team needs!”**

 

Tobin leapt up as the last bell rang, she took her phone out as she felt it buzz again. She flashed a smile as she read the message. Not looking where she was going in the hall, she ran right into someone as she had become so prone of in the recent days. Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed into Alex’s eyes for the first time in what felt like too long.

 

“Oh h-hey lex , I was just replyi- Ah sorry! “ she awkwardly stated as she offered a hand to the girl who fell in the collision.

Alex was now happy. The rest of her anger seemed to dissolve as she found her rhythm with Tobin once again. When the bell rang, she happily sped out of class, ready to make her way to practice. She was too busy thinking of tomorrow’s game when she ran into Tobin and ended up falling. She looked up into Tobin’s soft eyes as she opened her mouth to snap, now biting her tongue when she realized who she’d run into.

“It’s fine,” she mumbled, taking Tobin’s hand and relishing in the contact she hadn’t felt in the past day. She stood, but held onto Tobin’s hand a little longer than she needed to. “Thanks.”

Tobin noticed Alex’s lingering grasp on her hand but tried not to think it was anything more than a friendly accident. Tobin felt uncharacteristically flustered as she tried to think of what to say. There was an awkward air between the two Tobin thought as she tried find words.

“Uh so what’s up?” She asked.

“Oh, you know, just on the way to soccer practice,” Alex shrugged. She wasn’t sure when things had turned weird between them and she wasn’t sure she liked it. “Walk with me?” she suggested, adjusting her backpack strap on her shoulder.

Glad that Alex wasn’t being as awkward as she was sure she was being, Tobin nodded “Yeah sure!” hoping it didn’t sound overly enthusiastic.

The striker grinned as Tobin’s energy changed as they fell into step, walking to the locker rooms. Suddenly she blurted, “How was surfing with Christen yesterday?” She desperately hoped she sounded casual and nonchalant about it. She didn’t want to sound jealous or anything.

Tobin suddenly had an urge to ask Alex about her new guy friend but refrained as the girl blurted out her question.

“Oh it was great! Uhh Christen picked it up really fast! You should have joined us!” Tobin said unaware of the growing look on the girl’s face.

At the word “great”, Alex’s jaw clenched. _Of course it was great_ , she thought to herself. _You had your hands all over her,and I bet her hands were on you._ Instead, she gave a tight smile and said,”Well that’s good. Sorry, I had a million things to do after school. Next time though.”

Tobin was too preoccupied with the thought of Alex meeting up with her guy after school instead of going surfing with them to notice her sudden shift in demeanor. The two reached the locker room before either could say much more.

“Uhh alright, I guess I’ll talk to ya later?” Tobin asked hopeful.

Alex nodded, lightly touching Tobin’s arm. “Yeah, I’ll text you after practice.” She was debating in her mind whether or not to give Tobin a hug when she saw Christen approaching the locker room too. She knew the other forward could see them so she pulled Tobin into her embrace lightly. “Bye Tobs,” she mumbled softly.

Shocked at the forwardness of the forward, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as Alex pulled her into a light hug.

“Later Lex, I’ll see you tomorrow at the game ...superstar” she added hoping to elicit a final smile from the girl.

Alex couldn’t contain her smile as she pulled away from Tobin, trying very hard not to look at the reaction Christen was giving at the moment. “Can’t wait,” she beamed, then pretended she just noticed Christen. “Oh hey Press,” she greeted before giving Tobin one last grin as she disappeared into the locker room.


	5. Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Tobin's second home game. Good luck charms and teammates have never caused so many problems.

Game day. Alex had been energized all day. Though her and Tobin were still kind of off after the whole Christen thing (and unknown to Alex, the Servando thing as well), she was glad they were falling back into their routine. Christen had seemed a little annoyed with her at practice, but of course Alex played innocent and pretended she had no idea what set the younger girl off.

After losing their previous game 3-1, her team was hungry for a win. The team they were going to play wasn’t a major threat, but everyone they played had a chance of beating them so they couldn’t let their guard down for a second. Alex wanted a goal tonight, and she also wanted Press to stop scoring. It sounded childish and stupid, but if anyone was to break Alex’s record, she prayed it wouldn’t be Christen. It could be anyone but her, really.

“So, are you and...Tobin,” Kelley said slowly, making her she got the name right before Alex got defensive again. “Okay now?”

Alex looked up at her friend in the middle of sliding on her cleats. They were in the locker room getting ready and the commotion around them was too loud for anyone else, including Christen, to hear them. “Um, yeah...we’re fine. She’s out there today.”

Kelley smirked. “Make your girl proud.”

The striker’s cheeks turned a bright red as she threw her other cleat at the defender. “Shut up Kelley!”

“Hey hey,” Sydney said, picking up the cleat that hit Kelley’s arm. “No violence right before the game!”

“She’s trying to sabotage our chances at winning!” Kelley wailed, holding her arm as if the cleat had really hurt her.

Alex giggled. “Shut up you big baby.” She was glad she was finding her rhythm again. Since the game Tobin had been to, Alex had scored almost every game. She just prayed tonight Tobin would come through for her again and Press wouldn’t take her annoyance onto the field.

“Children,” HAO muttered. “I work with children.”

“Hey!” Sydney pointed at her. “Don’t get me started on you now!”

The girls all shared a laugh and then returned to putting their uniforms on. As soon as Alex finished lacing her cleats, she pulled out her roll of pink pre-wrap and ripped some off, tying it into a headband.

“Good luck charm?” one of her teammates asked curiously.

“Something like that,” Alex grinned.

 

Tobin was excited as she drove to the game. It was only the second school soccer game she had ever been to but she already anticipated seeing Alex score a goal. She pulled her car up amongst the crowded parking lot and made her way to the stands. _Must be a big game_ she thought as she scanned the crowd of people filling the area. She settled on the first available seat she could find. Not initially noticing who she was sitting next to, she turned to find the guy Alex was talking to the other day. _What are the chances?_ she thought as she let out a small sigh.

She tried to not size up the guy but she couldn’t resist . He was a muscular, athletic guy, three things Tobin definitely didn’t associate herself with. She turned her attention to the field as the team came out for the start of the game. She instantly spotted Alex with her pink prewrap. She smiled knowing that her gift was being put to use. She noticed Alex scanning the crowd until she could swear their eyes met. The forward gave a wave eliciting Tobin to do the same. Tobin noticed the guy next to her also waving which sent a pang of jealousy to creep into her system again. _Who was Alex actually waving to?_ she thought as she awkwardly put her arm down.

“Oh do you know Alex?” his low voice asked as he turned his attention to Tobin.

“Yeah we’re buds” Tobin said coolly.

“How do you know her?” she added.

“Oh our families are friends, so we go way back, I’m Serv by the way” he said with a welcoming smile and an outstretched hand.

“Tobin” she said giving him a small but pensive grin.

 

As soon as Alex could see the crowd, her eyes were immediately searching for Tobin. Once she found her, she didn’t hesitate in waving, initially not noticing Servando next to her. It wasn’t until Servando waved back as well that she took notice in him. She wondered if they had purposefully sat together and knew each other before or not. Before she could question any further, Coach called them over for warm ups. As she did so, she watched Tobin and Servando engage in conversation and her brows furrowed together, wondering what they could possibly be talking about. It was weird, seeing two people she knew for completely different reasons speak to each other. Maybe they were friends. Finally, she shrugged it off as they were called to practice shooting.

After the last of the drills, Alex jogged back to the sidelines and took off her warm ups, knowing she was going to be a starter. As she felt a pat on the back from one of her teammates, her eyes lifted to Tobin, but found it strange that her eyes were already focused towards her general direction. A pit feeling in Alex’s stomach formed when she realized Tobin was looking at Christen who was giving her a flirty smile and wave. _Dammit Press_ , she thought as she joined the team huddle before the game.

 

Tobin had actually been enjoying her conversation with Servando. She felt bad as she realized he was actually a very level headed guy who seemed to be pretty smart despite his deceiving good looks. She intently watched Alex during warm ups as she admired the girl’s fierceness and focus even when it was just practice.

As Tobin saw the team getting ready for the start of the game she felt someone’s eyes on her. She searched the field to meet the gaze of Christen who was already smiling and waving before Tobin could see her. Returning the smile, she waved back unaware that Alex was in the line of the interaction.

 

The game started off with a bang as both sides struggled intensely for control of the ball. In the 14th minute a dangerous cross found Alex’s right foot but it was too awkwardly placed for her to finish. Tobin and Serv jumped up at the exact same moment in anticipation of a goal from Alex. They awkwardly looked at each other before sitting back down.

 

Alex was a bit upset that Christen was going to be her partner in crime for however long they were both on the field. She would’ve much rather had Sydney or Abby by her side. The strangeness of Servando and Tobin and Christen being too friendly with Tobin  today certainly gave her a weird feeling  before the game. She was calling balls too soon or not finding the right touches she needed to finish. Typically, her left foot was her favored foot in shooting, but for some reason the ball kept finding her right so she couldn’t hit it the way she preferred. She was hoping she could find her rhythm before the first half closed out. Suddenly, in a counter attack launched by the opponent’s goalkeeper, the other team began a series of one-two touches that led to a goal, the ball barely brushing past Hope’s extended arms.

“Shit,” she muttered, her eyes meeting Kelley’s on the field.

 

Tobin anxiously sat on the edge of the bleacher as she watched with eager eyes the bodies running up and down the field. Her heart started to race a bit more than usual as she watched the opposing team start their counter-attack which resulted in the ball getting down the field toward the home goalie, Hope in a matter of seconds.  She looked to Alex whose steadfast look 

of confidence and focus had turned to one of concern as the ball quickly touched the feet of player to player making the next move unpredictable. Tobin held her breath as she watched the ball sail through the air as one of the other team’s middies got ahold of the ball with their right foot. In a leap of instinct, the crowd took a unified gasp as Hope’s fingers couldn’t keep the ball from reaching the back of the net in one heroic dive.

The goalkeeper got up frustrated, barking orders as the ball was reset. Using the momentum of the moment they sent the ball to the left side towards Alex. Tobin felt her heart pump at what must have been at least 100mph. She watched as Alex dribbled the ball swiftly past two defenders. She was sure the girl was about to score as she neared the goal. Suddenly in a seemingly selfless move, she crossed the ball back to Christen who looked to have a clearer shot. Tobin blinked and when she opened her eyes the ball was in the back of the net, the goalkeeper was on the ground in defeat, and Christen triumphantly put her hands up.

Tobin smiled as she watched the girl celebrate with her teammates. Before Christen turned her attention back to the game she looked up to Tobin with a smile as she pointed to her and mouthed something or other . Taken aback, Tobin pointed to herself confused as to why Christen would be pointing to her of all people, even more confusing was how she could’ve sworn the girl mouthed the words ‘lucky charm’.

Alex wasn’t even sure what just happened. Why did she even cross the ball to Christen when she could’ve dribbled around the remaining defender and shot? She shook it off, half relieved they’d gotten the equalizer, half pissed that Christen was one goal closer to breaking Alex’s set record. She jogged over to her friends were celebrating and mustered up a smile. Her eyes met Kelley’s and when Kelley gave her a questioning look, she only shrugged. Just as Alex was about to breakaway so they could restart the game, she looked at the younger forward, who had her eyes up in the crowd. At first Alex assumed it was for family so she didn’t think much of it, but when she turned to see what was going on, she saw a very confused Tobin. Her brows furrowed together. _Why is she looking at Tobin?_ she thought, then turned to Christen again in time to see her say ‘lucky charm’. Alex’s whole demeanor changed, causing her to breakaway from the small celebration rather quickly and jog bag to her place, but not before Kelley caught up to her.

“Dude, what was that?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow. “You almost never cross your balls to Press.”

“I don’t know okay,” the forward snapped rather harshly.

Kelley was taken aback for a moment. “Woah...what’s wrong. Talk to me, you know your anger doesn’t help you play better sometimes. It’ll make you play selfishly.”

“Fucking ‘lucky charm,’ my ass,” Alex muttered angrily as she reached her position. “She barely knows her.”

The freckled girl took a moment, piecing it together. “Are you talking about Tobin? Is this what it’s about?” When Alex didn’t reply, she knew her answer. “Alex, forget about Tobin right now, will you? Put everything that has to do with Tobin and Press and you aside. We have a damn game to win and if you let this affect you, we’re either not gonna win or Coach will sub you out. You hear me?”

“O’HARA! Get your ass back here!” Hope barked when mostly everyone was back in their position.

Kelley’s eyes met Hope’s then looked at Alex again when the girl hadn’t said anything. “Alex, you hear me? I’m serious.”

“Got it,” she muttered angrily.

Her friend sighed, jogging back to her left back position when confronted by Hope. “What’s Morgan’s problem?”

“She’s too in her head,” Kelley answered simply.

“Well she better get out of there,” the tall goalkeeper warned.

 

Tobin watched as Alex seemed to grow more infuriated by the second. She had grown more and more aggressive as the ball would get stolen from her or her shot would get saved. It was the 82nd minute and Alex had gotten fouled by a defender on the other team. Seemingly in a rage, Tobin and Servando gaped as they watched Alex shove the girl earning her a yellow card.

 _What’s up with her?_ Tobin thought as she disappointedly looked on.

 

The game ended 1-1 with Christen’s goal being the equalizer and Alex’s efforts earning the team nothing but a bad taste in their mouths. Tobin looked around at the retreating crowd in the bleachers, the expressions on their faces a mix of disappointment and shock. She suddenly realized the immense pressure put on Alex and the rest of the team. Being the best wasn’t easy or a given, and while Tobin had little to no experience with such pressure, she still respected the efforts put forth on the field that day. She followed Servando as he left the bleachers himself and made his way to the parking lot.

“Well, it was nice to meet you Tobin...maybe I’ll see you next game?” he asked.

“Yeah nice to meet you too” Tobin replied, neither seeming to make a move to their respective cars.

“Oh...are you wait-?” Servando began

“Yeah, I am” Tobin said knowing what the question was going to be before he finished his sentence.

He nodded as they both laughed at the increasingly awkward situation.

 

Alex came out first, the look on her face telling both Tobin and Servando that she was less than happy.

“Hey Al, great game!” Servando said sounding so excited it almost seemed fake.

“Yeah Lex, had some nice shots tonight!” Tobin added hoping to cheer the forward up.

Alex sighed before saying a terse “..thanks, let’s go eat”, completely ignoring Tobin and grabbing Servando’s arm.

“Lex?” Tobin asked curious as to why the girl would ignore her. Servando looked back at Tobin with a shrug and turned his attention back to the angry girl dragging him away.

Before Tobin could question what just happened, she heard a cheery voice behind her.

“Hey, it’s my lucky charm!” Christen said as she ran up behind the girl and loosely wrapped her arms around her.

“Hey Christen...great goal!” Tobin said shifting her mood to match

“Well thanks for coming...I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as ‘great’ without you here!” she sang. “Ah I’m starving though, want to go grab a bite with moi?” Christen added as she held her stomach.

“You should know, I’m never one to turn down some grub!” Tobin said with a grin as she tried to forget the fact that Alex had completely ignored her just moments ago.

 

“Do you like Italian?” Christen asked as she got into Tobin’s car.

“who doesn’t like Italian?” Tobin asked.

“Alright, I know this great place!” Christen said excitedly.

 

“Oh it’s Kell’s car!” Christen said as Tobin pulled next to an unfamiliar car.

“Kell?” Tobin wondered

“Kelley O’Hara, you know? The little squirrely girl who’s best friends with Alex?” Christen asked as if the answer was obvious and common knowledge.

Tobin shrugged as she followed the girl into the restaurant.

“Cool plac-” she began before she felt the tug of Christen as the girl directed the two of them to the right.

Before she knew it she was standing at the head of the table looking straight at Alex.

 

After a game like that, it was safe to say Alex was beyond pissed. Coach had pulled her aside in the locker room and asked her what the hell happened, but her only reply was ‘nothing’. He let her go, but not before having a staring contest with her for a few moments.

“Hey..am I still taking you home?” Kelley had asked gingerly as Alex as the forward roughly shoved her things into her bag.

“Yeah Kel,” she muttered. “Come on, I’ll meet you outside.” Alex abruptly stood and stormed out of the locker room, seeing Tobin and Servando waiting. Her mood almost softened on seeing Tobin, but then she remembered Christen’s goal celebration and her mood turned sour all over again. After they both congratulated her, she knew Christen would be out any moment so she dragged Servando off to eat, not bothering to invite Tobin.

“Uh, Lex, are you okay?” Servando asked.

Alex had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the stupid question. “I’m fine Servando. How about we go Italian?”

“But...that’s carbs and you just had a game--”

“Serv, come on,” Alex sighed, no anger in her voice, just pleading.

Servando could sense the frustration from her and nodded, not wanting to upset the girl even more. “Okay.”

Kelley skipped over to them just then. “Hi Serv, Lex, you ready to go?”

“Actually, Serv and I were gonna get something to eat,” Alex explained. “You should come with us.”

“What?” Servando and Kelley asked at the same time.

Alex nodded quickly, shooting Kelley a look. “Come on Kel.”

“I mean, I don’t want to intrude or anything, and I’m sure Servando could take you home after..”

“It’s fine Kel, come on.”

Kelley sighed, knowing if there was ever a time that her friend needed her, it would be now. “Alright let’s go.”

 

Alex’s mind was clouded the whole ride, leaving Kelley to do most of the talking in the car. She thought about Tobin, and how she was supposed to be her lucky charm, not Christen’s. Obviously something more must’ve happened at the beach than Alex expected. Was Tobin just playing with her, or was she truly as clueless as she had looked? Even if she was clueless, she couldn’t be that oblivious to Christen’s flirting. She wasn’t going to kid herself, Christen was absolutely gorgeous. If it came down to it, who would Tobin choose? The fact Alex wasn’t sure actually scared her. She was really starting to fall for Tobin, and she hadn’t fallen for anyone like that before. Finally, they arrived at their destination and Alex hopped out quietly.

“Hey is this about Tobin?” Kelley asked quietly as they walked ahead of Servando.

Alex only shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Come on Lex, I’ve never seen you play a game based on your emotions like that. This girl’s got you all over the place.”

She laughed bitterly. “Yeah, I guess she does.”

Kelley sighed, putting a smile on as Servando joined them as they entered the building.

After food had arrived, Alex started to loosen up a little bit, enjoying her company. Kelley kept things less tense and Servando was just trying to make her feel better, which she was very grateful for. Things were perhaps starting to look up when Alex noticed Kelley’s expression change.

“Kel? Are you okay?” she asked.

Kelley quickly snapped out of it and turned to Alex, giving off a tense smile. “Yeah, everything’s cool.”

“Not when you’re looking at me like that…” Alex said slowly, her gaze turning to the door. Her stomach dropped and her appetite was partially gone. there she found Christen and Tobin, with Tobin’s eyes immediately meeting hers. _Oh my god_ , she thought.

Tobin was unable to wipe her dumbfounded eyes off of Alex as Christen hurriedly dragged them closer.

“Hey guys, what’s up? Mind if we join?” Christen asked.

“Yeah of course” Servando kindly obliged as he scooted his chair closer to Alex to make room for them.

“Uh hey” Tobin said as she slowly sat down not feeling at all welcome by the intense gaze of Alex across from her.

Everyone noticing the awkward air settling on the table, they turned to their menus in hopes it was good enough excuse to not talk.

Alex was bitterly about to decline Christen and Tobin when Servando opened his mouth first. As soon as his chair was closer to hers, Alex made a point to kick him under the table.

“Ow,” he hissed, giving her a look, but she only stared at Tobin. All the feelings that were fading away were quickly returning to her, and she wondered if Tobin could tell.

As everyone looked at their menus, Kelley decided it was her job as mediator tonight, seeing Servando was oblivious to the reasons behind the tension, Tobin was clueless as ever, and Christen was just there to piss Alex off. “So...ever been here before Tobin?”

“....Nope, I haven’t, I don’t eat out much..” Tobin said as she kept her eyes glued to the menu.

Kelley nodded, unsure how to continue from there. “Oh, that’s cool..”

“Hey Christen,” Servando suddenly said. “Good goal today.”

The defender held in a wince as she saw Alex’s jaw clench and her fingers grip the menu tighter. Her blue eyes seemed to blaze in anger. _He’s such an idiot_ , Kelley rolled her eyes behind her own menu.

“Thanks! I owe it all to this girl right here” she said as she lightly punched Tobins arm “...my new lucky charm I’m pretty sure!” she said with a bright smile.

 _Oh god_ , Kelley thought, cringing a little as she knew what was coming next.

Alex’s grip tightened even more as her jaw was so clenched that she was pretty sure she could chip one of her teeth from it. Finally, she looked up from her menu, her eyes targeted at Tobin’s. “I didn’t know you were her good luck charm,” she commented tensely, mock amusement evident in her voice.

Growing more and more uncomfortable, Tobin leaned back further away from Alex’s intense stare “I’ve been known to be lucky to many..” Tobin finally stated calmly.

Christen looked at Alex’s intense gaze and back at Tobin who was leaning so far back from the table, she was afraid she would fall right over. She felt a tinge of jealousy as she tried to decipher what the interaction all meant but she wished that Tobin would pay more attention to her.

“Well I’m glad I can call you my lucky charm!” Christen chimed in.

Tobin looked to the girl next to her with a small smile, she whipped her head to the table as she heard a loud bang. She watched as Alex got up abruptly after slamming the table.

Alex was just about to lose it. How oblivious and stupid could Tobin be, really? Her interaction with Christen sickened her and she had enough. After seeing Tobin give Christen that stupid smile, she slammed the table, getting up and storming off to the bathroom without looking back, leaving Kelley to clean up the awkward mess.

“Is she alright?” Servando asked.

Kelley bit back a sarcastic comment. “Uh, I think I’ll go check on her.” Just as she stood, so did Tobin. She shook her head. “I think I got this one, Tobin.” She gave the surfer a warning look, hoping she’d get that this was about _her_. Sighing, the freckled girl rushed off to the bathroom. “Al?”

“What?” Alex snapped viciously. She was at the counter, her palms  pressed against the cool top of it and she was facing the mirror, her eyes looking at it to see Kelley behind her. Her breaths were short and she was fuming.

Kelley had enough of trying not to upset her best friend any longer. She made her way to Alex’s side and glared at her. “Alex, what the hell is this? I’ve never seen you like this before. And don’t even tell me you’re fine because I’m done with your bullshit.”

“I don’t know!” the forward yelled, squeezing her eyes shut. “I don’t know, Kelley.”

“Alex, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on. I want to help you but you’re not giving me anything to help with!”

“It’s Tobin and Christen and their stupid thing,” she groaned. “Tobin’s so fucking stupid, like I like her, how doesn’t she get that?! Why doesn’t she get I hate Christen?!”

“Well,” Kelley started when Alex was done. “I think Tobin just seems to be the oblivious type of person. She doesn’t understand what’s going on. You’ve only known her for a few weeks, Al. She’s still trying to figure you out and you shutting her out like this isn’t helping.”

“And don’t even get me started on Christen! First she comes onto this team all sweet and innocent, and then she starts showing me up on the field! And when she sees me talking to Tobin, she thinks she can just come in and take her too?! Why can’t she just stop?!” Alex was so frustrated to the point that there were tears in her eyes. “Kel, I really like her, okay? I really do.”

Kelley was silent for a moment, unable to believe what she was witnessing. Sure, she’d seen Alex cry over guys who hurt her, but she’d never seen Alex react like this to someone who wasn’t even hers, technically. “Hey,” she said softly, wiping a tear that had escaped her friend’s lips. “Look at me, you and Tobin will figure this out, okay? And if Press gets in the way of it, it’s Tobin’s fault for getting distracted from the incredible person standing in front of her. Come on, let’s go back outside, Servando’s lost and confused and I think you owe him a better night than what he’s gotten.”

Alex let out a sigh. “Fine. Thank you, Kel.”

“Anytime baby horse,” Kelley grinned.

 

Concerned at Alex’s sudden departure from the table she stood up out of instinct to go after the girl. She slowly and reluctantly sat down as Kelley advised her to stay put. Confused but sure that she had done something to annoy Alex, she wanted nothing more than to be able to talk to the girl alone, but realized giving her space might do just as well. She turned her attention back to Christen and Servando who were talking about the latest futbol news. It was something easy, something light, and something Tobin could totally talk about. She led a carefree life full of memories and smiles, not stresses and headaches. The simpler the conversation the more Tobin appreciated it yet Alex had somehow managed to take her away from this. What Tobin was feeling for the girl was completely new and she had little to no idea how to go about ‘liking’ someone.

Tobin found herself laughing extra hard at a joke that Servando slipped into the conversation when Alex was seen rounding the corner. Tobin looked over and noticed the puffy red all over Alex’s face signaling that she was crying. Before Tobin could say anything, the girl looking more hurt than before, dashed towards the exit of the restaurant. Kelley came out a second later, she hurried over to the table to get the girl’s stuff before following her teammate and friend to the exit.

“Wait what’s wrong?” Tobin urgently asked

“Tobin ….just don’t be stupid” Kelley stated before dashing after her friend.


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And all things fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, two updates in the same week :)  
> Thank you so much from me and Kate on the feedback we've been getting. We love you guys so much!

“Alex!” Tobin yelled after the girl as she ran to the parking lot.

Kelley heard the girl behind her and turned around, stopping as Alex got farther. “Tobin, you’ve already done enough for tonight, just--”

“No, I need to hear from Alex what i’ve even done?!” Tobin said cutting the freckled girl off as she tried to get past her. “Alex please” she said hoping the girl would at least turn around and look at her.

Alex had heard Tobin calling for her the first time, but refused to turn around and was glad when she heard Kelley’s voice. When she heard shoes on the pavement she thought it was Kelley trying to keep up, but when she heard the usually soothing voice again, she stopped, not even breaking a sweat. She wiped her face, trying to get rid of tears that didn’t seem to stop. “What Tobin?”

Tobin frowned as she heard the disappointment and sadness in Alex’s raspy voice that she loved so. She took a step forward away from Kelley’s grasp and towards the girl whose back was still turned towards her.

“Lex...listen i’m sorry for whatever I did to hurt you..I-I-What did I do??” Tobin finally stuttered out unsure of how to go about the conversation. She was never good with the ‘touchy-feely’ stuff and now Alex was testing all of her boundaries, but oddly enough she wanted more than anything to fight for the girl.

Kelley realized they were having a moment and mumbled something along the lines of “I’ll be in the car” and jogged off as Tobin continued to speak. As she did, Alex stayed silent, listening to Tobin talk. She had heard the girl speak before, but not like this. She seemed to uncomfortable and unsure of herself and it kind of threw Alex off for a moment. She spun around, trying her hardest to maintain eye contact. “Tobin...why can’t you see it? How obvious do I have to be?”

“....Lex...surfing..going to the beach.. writing a philosophy paper...taking life one day at a time...these are things I know..they’re like a part of me now.. and then you-you ..came into my life. And to be honest I’m not sure where you fit in my life, I just know that I need you to be there..” Tobin finished getting a little choked up as well. She couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of her but she knew that they were from her heart. She would only hope that Alex would be able to realize that.

Alex felt the lump in her throat grow larger as Tobin continued. Something told her Tobin didn’t open up like this to anyone, and she was tempted to say game over and collapse into Tobin’s arms, but then she was reminded of Christen waiting in the restaurant and found her resolve once again. “What about Christen, huh? How does she fit into your life?”

Tobin looked at the girl who had finally turned around at her last statement. The pain in her eyes told her everything.

“Christen?” she began “so that’s what this is about?” Tobin continued hurt that Alex didn’t trust her enough to be friends with Christen.

“Alex you guys are teammates...you’re on a ‘team’, you have one goal. You’re mad at me because i’m friends with your rival huh? That’s it isn’t it?” Tobin said seemingly getting more hurt and angry by each syllable.

The forward cringed at the way Tobin worded what was going on. That wasn’t the way Alex saw it. It never was. “I’m not...she’s not my ‘rival’, Tobin. She’s….she’s Christen. She’s talented, pretty, and….” her voice was cracking at this point because she saw the anger in Tobin’s eyes. “She’s better than me. I’m losing everything to her, Tobin. I can’t..I don’t want to lose everything to her.”

“H-how can you think that?” Tobin asked throwing her hands up in frustration as a few tears surprisingly ran down her usually happy face.

“Lex I think you’re all those things and more! Don’t make me choose between you two…” Tobin finished unsure if her and Alex were even talking about the same thing anymore.

“You never lost me lex….you lost yourself…” Tobin said as her usual low and cool voice strained and cracked. She wiped the tear falling down her face and walked away not letting Alex reply.

Alex never thought she’d see Tobin like this. Tobin, who seemed so willing to go with the flow, who never really questioned anything. Seeing her crumble like this only made Alex break even more. She shook her head, opening her mouth to say something, but the surfer was already walking away. To top off the emotions she was already going through, there was the sick feeling in her that she might have just lost Tobin, and she was positive that was a thousand times worse than losing play offs or even her record to Christen.

“Alex? Where’s Tob-?” Christen began as she walked outside but stopped as she saw the tears on the forward’s face. “What happened?”

 _Great, just what I needed_ , Alex thought as she shook her head, trying to wipe her tears. Christen had never seen Alex vulnerable and it wasn’t pleasing her that the young girl was seeing her like this now. “Just s-stupid stuff,” she shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it. “Is Serv still in there?”

“Yeah he is….Where is Tobin?” Christen let out reverting back to her original question. She had never seen this side of Alex, an Alex who seemed unsure of herself and on the verge of breaking right in half.

Alex shrugged, looking at the ground. “I don’t know...She just left.” She wasn’t really sure where her and Christen stood and how much Christen knew about her and Tobin, but it wasn’t the time to find out. “Tell Servando I’m really sorry for how things turned out tonight, and that I’ll call him tomorrow. I’ll see you at practice Press,” she nodded, and then slowly walked off to the car, where Kelley was a lready waiting in the driver’s seat.

“Home?” Kelley asked, not bombarding the girl with questions.

Alex was grateful her best friend knew how to read her so well. “Yes please,” she mumbled, buckling her seat belt.

“Do you want to get some ice cream on the way home?” Kelley suggested.

“Maybe tomorrow..”

Tobin stuffed her hands into her pockets, put her hood up and walked off into the dark of the night. Whatever she was feeling was overwhelming her in every possible way. She was hurting, angry, and sad all at the same time but mostly angry at herself for walking away. She knew it wasn’t right to leave Alex with what she said, and surely their friendship had come to a breaking point now indefinitely. Tobin sat down on a bench and buried her face in her hands.

 _What now?_ she thought as a fresh set of tears stained her eyes.

  
  


The weekend was long and uneventful for Alex. Saturday morning she found her small best friend on the couch flipping through morning cartoons, calling over her shoulder that there were donuts on the counter and ice cream for later in the freezer. Kelley was a welcome distracted for the better part of the day, and as a loyal best friend she didn’t ask Alex for any details until she was ready to open up, and when she did Kelley did her best to listen and give the best advice she could, which was to let time take over. Sunday afternoon, Alex was in the park with Servando, passing the ball back and forth. Although Servando asked what was wrong, the best Alex could come up with for him was that she and Tobin were in an argument. She honestly didn’t want to burden him with details and he seemed okay with just passing the time by.

But no matter how hard she tried to be distracted, Tobin was always on her mind. Their nasty last words replayed in her head as if it were on a loop that Alex couldn’t stop, and it made her want to cry all over again. That’s actually what she did Saturday night, unable to help it. Her tears dried on her face in the morning, but there was still no Tobin for Alex to wake up to and text anymore. It was radio silence on both ends and Alex felt this was all her fault. If she didn’t let Press get into her head or if she didn’t let Tobin effect or this much or if she had made a move sooner...there were too many to count. It seemed like every little thing Alex did could have been changed if she was just paying attention.

When Monday came around, Alex stayed quiet the whole day, making sure to avoid anywhere Tobin could be. She felt that if she ran into the girl she’d see those normally warm brown eyes full of anger and disappointment and Alex knew that was worse than not seeing her at all. At practice she wasn’t at the top of her game, but no one bothered her, not even Christen, who was actually being pretty civil towards her for the time they were together that afternoon. When night came, Alex’s thoughts were clouded and she knew she had to get some sleep if she wanted to do well the following day for her game. They were playing their rivals and Alex knew this was possibly the worst time to be going through this. It had to be all or nothing and she wasn’t sure she could give it her all. Situations with Tobin kept playing in her head. The pink pre-wrap seemed to be burning a hole in her soccer bag, a constant reminder of who she lost just days ago. Sleep eventually came, but it wasn’t enough. Alex knew if she wanted to win this game successfully not only for her team, but for herself, she needed a clear head going into it. So when she woke up the next morning, she went to the only place she found peace after rough games: the beach.

 

Tobin had been trying hard to push the thought of Alex’s hurt face and their nasty conversation behind her but it was no use. She had tried surfing, sleeping, even doing her homework but no matter what she did the fight was fresh on her mind. She checked her phone knowing there wouldn’t be a message from Alex but checking nonetheless. She hadn’t realized how much of a presence Alex had made in her life until the girl wasn’t there anymore.

Monday Tobin was like a ghost roaming the halls not talking to anyone and getting from class to class as swiftly as possible hoping to avoid any interaction with Alex, or Christen. The last thing she needed was an accidental run in with Alex’s light blue eyes that had such an effect on her. After school she walked to her car, she felt a punch to her gut as she noticed Alex’s car sitting in its’ usual spot. The situation from the other night replaying as the tears threatened to spill again.

Tobin pulled into her driveway and wiped her face hoping to erase any evidence of the crying or the pain she was in. She looked in the mirror as she tried on her smile but it seemed to be no use. She couldn’t even convince herself that she was happy, how was she supposed to convince anyone else? She ran up her stairs to her room and fell on her bed thankful she didn’t have to explain herself to her mom or anyone else. She contemplated getting up but the weight of the thoughts running through her head seemed to keep her grounded on her bed. Soon enough her eyelids grew heavy as well and she drifted off to sleep with Alex on her mind.

She woke up to the darkness of the early morning. Disoriented and wanting a distraction from Alex for just a little she decided to go to her second home : the beach.

She drove down the beach a little to a different area, her usual spot would only bring back memories of her and Alex. She walked along the cool sand as the sun was about to break on the horizon. She let out a breath before she took a deep one in.

Alex didn’t know where to park, so she picked a random place, knowing if she went to her usual place she’d either see Tobin or be bombarded with memories she’d rather not remember. She got out and sat on the sand, just washing the waves meet land and the sun rise. She pulled her sleeves over her fingers and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them tightly. Her chin found the top of her knees and she stayed like that for awhile, just trying to clear her mind.

Tobin continued to walk down the empty beach loving the fact that she was the only one there this early. She said a prayer as the sun’s light finally broke and felt hope and faith flow through her as the warm rays encompassed her body. It’ll be okay she said aloud to herself.

 _It’ll be okay_ she said again a little louder and more confident thinking no one was around.

As a small smile was about to creep onto her face she heard a familiar voice echo in her ears.

“T-t- tobin?”

Tobin turned behind her to see a figure. She had to squint because of the brightness of the sun. She felt her breath hitch as she recognized the figure’s light brown hair and the girl’s stunning blue eyes.

“Lex….” she stated a little quieter.

Alex hadn’t thought she’d see Tobin on this side. They were usually on the opposite. That’s where she saw Tobin surfing the one day that started this whole situation. Out of stupidity of course she stuttered her name, then kind of wished she didn’t when she saw that indeed it was the Tobin. She almost missed Tobin muttering her nickname in reply and took a moment to respond. She didn’t know what to say. What was she supposed to say in situations like these? “Tobin,” she whispered again, and mentally smacked herself for doing so. _Wow idiot, get it together will you?_

Tobin stared at the girl unsure of what to say. She couldn’t take her eyes off of her as the day got a little brighter and the sunshine continued to break. She wasn’t sure if it was her turn to speak or Alex’s, she just knew in this moment she didn’t want to look anywhere else. She wanted to smile as wide as she could as she heard Alex say her name again almost as quiet as a whisper but she contained herself and let out a small smirk instead.

“What are you doing here?” Tobin finally let out as she realized Alex wasn’t going to say anything else after her name.

Alex’s first thought was surprise. After coming to the beach most mornings or afternoons with Tobin, the question was never needed. But now she remembered that “to be with you” wasn’t a reasonable answer, and it wasn’t the right one. “Big game today,” she explained, biting her lip. “Need to clear my head.”

Tobin let out an even bigger smirk as she watched Alex bite her lip. She rubbed the back of her neck as she suddenly grew a little nervous for some reason or another.

“Is it clear yet?” She asked forcing herself to look at the girl again.

She felt a little more uncomfortable as she saw Tobin’s smirk, but of course she still found it cute. The forward couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her lips as she heard Tobin’s question and looked up at her. “Not really sure,” she shrugged. “But I know I need it clear if I want this game to go well.”

“Ohh.. “ Tobin paused not sure how Alex was feeling, and even more unsure of where the two stood. She decided to take the risky road anyways..

“Lucky charms and pink pre-wrap not enough anymore huh?” She let out slowly to make sure Alex got all of what she was trying to say.

The way Tobin said it almost made her cringe. She didn’t need to be reminded of what went wrong by her. She chose her words carefully and eased her tone, making sure she didn’t sound bitter. She didn’t want Tobin to walk away from her, not again. “Depends on if my lucky charm is there tonight. And if I get more pink pre-wrap because I’m convinced HAO stole mine.” She allowed herself to chuckle at the last statement.

Tobin let out an inaudible sigh as she relaxed a little at Alex’s reply. She knew it could have gone south quickly and she was relieved Alex didn’t take it that way.

“You don’t need pink pre-wrap or a lucky charm, you’re Alex, star forward, and I’m just Tobin, that surfer girl.” Tobin said as her tone turned to a more serious one. She turned to face the ocean again as the thing she had been wanting to say just came out on it’s own.

Alex looked at her in awe as she spoke. Tobin never failed in amazing her by her words. She stayed silent for a moment, chewing her bottom lip as she mulled over the words in her head. Then she stood, brushing the sand off her sweatpants. “You will never be ‘just Tobin’ to me.”

Tobin turned back to look at the girl again “What does that even mean Alex? I don’t know how to be anything but ‘just Tobin’. I can keep coming to your games, and you can keep calling me your lucky charm, but what are we doing? We’re like oil and water trying to be in the same cup…” Tobin confessed not sure if she even truly believed what she was saying.

The younger girl sighed, hesitating, but then taking Tobin’s hands into her own. She was positive that her hands were shaking a little, but she did it anyway and looked into the warm brown eyes that held so much meaning to her now. “I don’t know what we’re doing,” she admitted. “but I do know that I kind of really like you, and I don’t know how to go about it and I don’t know how you feel about it and I don’t know where this is going, but I’m more than okay with not knowing my destination if that means you’re coming along for the ride.” She wasn’t even sure how she thought of that so quick, or if she even thought of it at all. Her words flew out of her mouth before her mind could stop her, and now her heart was beating a thousand miles per hour as she realized she’d finally said it.

Tobin stood in shock as she felt herself pulling away from the girl in front of her. She didn’t know what to say, her body told her to run but her heart wasn’t allowing her to take any more steps.

“I-I don’t know what to say Lex…” She finally said as she forced herself to start walking away. She felt the tears start to well up in the corners of her eyes as she walked away out of instinct. She contemplated going back and finally telling the girl everything that was in her heart but she couldn’t manage it then. Tobin had never had such intense feelings for anyone, and she certainly never had conversations like this. Her first inclination was to run and that’s what she did.

Alex had never felt as nervous as she had in that moment. Not even when they had penalty kicks last season and she took one. She still remembered it as if it happened only yesterday.

_There had been a light drizzle that morning so the grass was still slightly wet. Sweat was dripping down her skin. As she looked around at her teammates, she could see exhaustion on their face, along with apprehension and determination. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the other team took a PK, then looked to her right to find Abby. She had a steel look of determination in her eyes like she did the whole game as she screamed for her team to keep going. There were only three words that she said to Alex, and they stuck with her._

_“You can do this.”_

_And so she got a few pats on the back and took the ball, placing it in the perfect position. She never paid attention to the goalie; it was always ball and net to her. With a breath, she stepped back at an angle for a few steps. Last thing she was totally aware of was charging the ball._

Tobin speaks, but Alex doesn’t completely process it.

_Alex’s foot connected with the ball hard._

She feels sudden warmth missing from her hands, then realizes Tobin’s let go of her.

_The goalie misses the ball, letting it sweetly hit the back of the net like she wanted._

Tobin runs.

 

It’s something Alex takes as a loss worse than if she had missed the penalty.

 


	7. Part 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's only up to Tobin and Alex to know what the "status of us" truly is.

Tobin wasn’t sure what had just happened.. she wasn’t sure where her and Alex had started or if there ever was a ‘start ‘ to begin with...but she was sure that wherever they were...Tobin just ended it. She felt the tears sting her face as she held onto her steering wheel even tighter to fight the stinging pain in her chest. _Why wouldn’t you stay? Why wouldn’t you just tell her?_ she thought to herself as the patters of the rain began to hit her windshield. In a bout of frustration she slammed her fist down on her dashboard sending a sharp pain up through her arm. It was nothing compared to the hurt in her chest. _I’m sorry_ she said aloud as she hunched over her steering wheel and tried to calm down a bit. After a few long breaths she was able to start her car and finally leave the parking lot, the rain falling a little harder now.

 

Alex stood for a moment, unsure she could trust her legs to carry her to her car. She just lost Tobin. Tobin had run away from her. She didn’t like Alex back at all. She was just going with the flow, like she always did...or she liked Christen more. The forward wasn’t so sure anymore. She felt the rain dripping onto her head, but it wasn’t enough to upset her. Tears were forming in her eyes and the ache in her chest was ten times worse than it was before, but she willed herself not to cry. She couldn’t break on game day, not this game day. Her teammates needed her and she needed this game to lose herself and get her act together. So she forced herself into the car, squeezing her eyes open and shut. It wasn’t until she turned on her engine that the rain fell harder.

How did things go so wrong? Maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Tobin didn’t seem like the type to stick around for long, and Alex should’ve realized that before it was too late. She’d confessed something she’d been so scared to do and now she found that she had good reason to hide it. Tobin didn’t feel the same way. Maybe she never did. She felt so twisted that her hands were still shaking as the gripped the steering wheel hard while she backed out of the parking spot. Just then, she noticed the rain.

“Shit,” she hissed, her voice breaking. “Not today, damn weather. Please not today.”

She needed this game. It was the only source of escape she could find now.

 

She just lost Alex. And it was her fault. As much as Tobin wanted to blame her feet for taking her away, they were still ‘her feet’, and she could’ve stopped them if she tried harder.

 _This can’t be the end_ she thought as she pulled into her usual spot in the school parking lot. She sat still as the rain continued to fall. She lost track of time as she thought about Alex and how she had seriously messed up. She was snapped back into reality as she watched Alex’s car pull into it’s usual spot across the lot. She watched with eager eyes as the car’s headlights dimmed as the engine was turned off. She expected Alex to hop out of her car and run into school but the girl didn’t move. Feeling creepier by the second Tobin decided to finally make a move, she got out of her car and ran into the school as she tried to avoid the raindrops.

 

Alex couldn’t get herself to get out of her car. The rain was still hard and she had her hoodie in her bag, but she couldn’t leave. She wasn’t sure if she could face a whole day knowing everything was different now. There was no Tobin to wonder about. There was no hope that something could form. It was the moment she looked up and saw a glimpse of a light brown ponytail rush into the doors. _If she can do it, I can get through my damn classes_ she decided as she grabbed her hoodie, pulling it over her head and rushing to school with her backpack and soccer bag both slung on either shoulder. Kelley was the first to see her.

“Why’s your hood still up? You’re inside,” she said, poking at Alex’s arm.

Alex shrugged, opening her locker without saying a word.

“Alex..?” she asked, gently tugging off the hood. She found red eyes.

After a moment of silence as Alex dumped her things into her locker while putting her soccer bag onto the ground she said weakly, “I saw her this morning.”

“You did? What happened?”

The forward shook her head, a lump forming in her throat and her voice cracking. “I lost her, Kel.”

“No...no, you couldn’t have..”

“But I did,” Alex wiped at her eyes, sniffling a little.

Kelley pulled her into a tight hug, unsure of how to proceed from there. There was only so much she could do to convince her friend that everything would be okay. “Can you play today?” she asked softly.

“I have to,” Alex managed, sniffling again.

“But the rain…”

“It’ll stop eventually,” She sounded confident despite her appearance. “It’s not that hard anyway.”

“If you say so…” Kelley muttered, secretly hoping the game would be rained out so they couldn’t play and Alex would have time to herself.

 

Christen kept taking glances over to Alex’s tear stained, red eyed face during their class together. She had never seen the girl so broken down before and she couldn’t help but feel like some or maybe all of it was due to her. She timed her packing up with Alex’s as the bell rang to stop the girl without looking like she had been meaning to for awhile.

“Alex? What’s wrong?” She asked figuring it was the safest question at this point.

Alex looked up from her folder in surprise when she heard Christen’s voice She hadn’t even realized Christen was there for a moment, but now that she was she found herself uneasy again. She didn’t have the energy to go off on her, but she knew ‘nothing’ wasn’t going to fly by the younger girl. “I um…” She cleared her throat, trying to find her words. “I’m just...It’s not…” She couldn’t find something that didn’t give away everything all at once. Her words were jumbled just as much as her thoughts.

“What’s going on with you and Tobin?” Christen calmly asked as she sat down next to the girl. She knew it was true as soon as she said it aloud. As much as she wished it wasn’t, she knew something was going on with her and Tobin and she decided she would cut right to the chase.

The older girl’s entire body tensed up as she understood the question. Christen Press was a smart girl and that didn’t just mean book smart. She took a few seconds before answering, afraid her voice might crack and tears would fall again. The lump returned in her throat and it wouldn’t go away. She looked down then forced herself to look at her teammate. “Nothing anymore...Don’t worry about it Press.” She struggled to keep her voice even, but anyone who knew Alex could tell it was much raspier than usual. A tight smile formed on her lips. “I’ll see you in the locker room, okay?”

Christen sympathetically looked at the girl who looked like she was on the verge of breaking down even further. Although Alex didn’t tell Christen exactly what was on her mind, the girl could tell what happened by just looking into her eyes. The hurt, the pain, the jealousy, and the love all present in Alex’s light blue eyes. Maybe it was the way she stated ‘Don’t worry about it Press’ or the extra rasp and wear in her voice but Christen put a hand on Alex’s shoulder before she got up to leave “It’ll be okay, I’ll see you later Alex” she stated. As much as she didn’t want to, she knew what she had to do..

Somehow things shifted between Alex and Christen in those few moments. Although it was mostly Alex getting frustrated and jealous at Christen’s obvious success and lately her time with Tobin, that wasn’t the case in that classroom. In those few moments, Christen had somehow become a teammate to her in ways that she never had before. Alex wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she watched the girl leave, her shoulder still feeling the pressure of the other forward’s hand. Slowly, she shook the feeling off and went to her next class, not sure what had just occurred.

 

Christen pulled her phone out and sent a quick text to the one person she need to see.

 

**Hey where are you? I need to talk to ya!**

 

Tobin was sitting with her friends at lunch when she felt the buzz in her pocket. Before she could reply she heard Christen’s familiar voice next to her.

“Oh hey, found you!”

“Hey Christen” Tobin mumbled as she took a bite out of her sandwich in front of her.

The girl watched as Tobin moved her jaw slowly, she looked as if she was stuck in time, as if moving slowly was the only thing she could muster at that moment. Christen looked to her tablemates, Lauren’s face telling her that Tobin was in a bad place.

“So can we maybe take a walk and chat?” Christen asked.

Tobin continued to chew as if she didn’t even hear the girl’s question.

“Tobin...please..” Christen said on the verge of a plead

“Tobs?” Lauren asked as her friend remained quiet.

Finally the girl nodded and got up as she threw her hood up.

 

Alex was mindlessly staring at her food while her teammates all talked and screamed as normal. They were all pretty happy that the rain had stopped and it was enough time for the field to be almost dry by the time they played. She wanted to get into the conversation too, but she didn’t have the heart or voice to do it. Kelley had given all her friends a warning look just before they asked Alex what was wrong, causing them to second guess even asking at all.

Getting tired of staring at her food for a good ten minutes, Alex looked up, her eyes wandering the cafeteria, and they so happened to fall on Christen. Her brows furrowed and her lips turned into a frown as she saw her fellow forward _. This isn’t her lunch_ , Alex thought curiously. It wasn’t until she saw which table the tall girl was at that her stomach dropped. She watched as the younger said a few words to Tobin, then one of Tobin’s friends did, and then she saw Tobin getting up and walking in sync with Christen into the hallway.

 _No._ There was no way. Christen...She didn’t even have words for it. Whatever moment they had shared at the end of psychology was obviously not true. Christen was messing with her head again, and Alex had no doubt this would affect their game tonight. The younger girl took the fact Alex had said nothing was going on as an advantage and now was getting Tobin all to herself. Feeling disgusted and sick, Alex roughly pushed away her food and stood.

“Where are you going?” Sydney asked, looking concerned.

Alex shook her head. “I can’t be here anymore,” she whispered so softly that she figured no one heard her. She didn’t care. She just left the cafeteria, out the doors that led her to the quad, in the completely opposite direction from Christen and Tobin.

“What’d she say?”

Hope, the only one who had caught what her younger teammate said shook her head. “She needs space.”

 

“You seem distracted today..are you okay Tobs?” Christen asked already knowing the answer.

“I’m fine” Tobin said trying to disguise her true feelings with a smile.

“What’s up with you though?” Tobin asked hoping to aim the conversation towards Christen.

“Today I had class with Alex, her eyes were red and puffy, and she couldn’t have looked more broken even if she tried. I’m guessing you’re the reason?

Tobin felt sick to her stomach. Everything Christen just admitted was like a punch in her gut and she once again felt her heart ache as she remembered the morning’s conversation with Alex. She was in a pure state of shock as she didn’t know how to proceed from there.

“I- I don’t know what to say..” Tobin admitted

“You know...I’ll admit, it was fun being able to innocently flirt and just have fun with you Tobs, but after seeing Alex…. dude.. she loves you. “

“And you need to fix this, because when two people are as broken as you two are without each other…” Christen paused unable to explain “Well let’s just say ‘you need each other’”

“I-I love Alex…” Tobin said aloud as if she needed to hear it for herself.

She suddenly felt a wave of relief encompass her as the statement itself was all she needed to say. Caught up in the moment she wanted nothing more than to find Alex and tell her herself but she stopped herself to turn her attention back to the girl in front of her.

“Thank you Christen, you’re a good friend..” Tobin said as she pulled the girl into a hug. “You’ll find someone great, I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of all of this” she said softly as she pulled away.

“I’ll be okay..Now go and find Alex!” Christen said with a nod as she pushed Tobin away.

Tobin grinned and started to run down the hall but was stopped by Christen’s voice once again.

“Hey Tobs, I have an idea actually..” Christen said with a grin on her face now.

  
  


Alex was already mentally drained. By the time the last bell rang all she wanted to do was go home. She wasn’t even motivated to play, and that said a lot. With two hours until the game, most of the girls were lounging around in the locker room acting like idiots. Alex was curled up in her locker, just staring at the locker in front of her. She wasn’t talking to anyone and she wasn’t listening to music. She was just thinking about how everything had gone so damn wrong. Finally, her view of the locker was cut off by their keeper.

“Hey kid,” Hope said gently. Contrary to popular belief, Hope was actually very genuine and nice if she liked you. If she didn’t? Well..

“Hi,” Alex mumbled, pulling the sleeves of her warm up jacket over her fingers.

They sat in silence for a moment until Hope spoke up again. “Is it the surfer girl?”

“How do you know?” she asked curiously.

The older girl chuckled, shaking her head. “Kelley sure doesn’t know how to shut up sometimes.”

Alex blushed deeply, looking down. _Then there’s the fact she likes you_ , she didn’t say. Instead she replied, “You’re right.”

“Come on, Al. We need you,” Hope said seriously now. She was looking at Alex and it was intense eyes staring at each other. Alex’s were pained and vulnerable while Hope’s were bright and alert. “I don’t care about this girl, but she has a lot coming for her if she’s messed with you.”

“It’s Press too,” she shrugged.

“Press?” Hope groaned. “Jesus Christ Al, this is high school, not a fucking soap opera!” Alex cringed at Hope raising her voice, causing the keeper to soften a little. “Sorry, I just..We need our star forward tonight. These are our rivals we’re talking about here. The ones we lost to a few weeks ago, remember that?”

Alex nodded. “Of course I do, Hope.”

“All that hurt you have in there? Channel it to keep you going tonight. I’m going to send my long balls towards you now because they’ve quickly made Press their new target. I need you to keep your head in this game. We can worry about anything else that happens after that last whistle blows and we’re done celebrating our win. I’ve got your back. I always have. Got it?”

The forward gave her a nod and a smile. “Thanks Hope.”

“It’s what I’m here for kid,” she patted Alex’s knee and then left, joining the other seniors.

“What was that?” Kelley asked curiously, making her way over.

Alex smirked, finding a little more life in her again. “She was just telling me how much she loves you.”

Kelley’s eyes were daggers to Alex. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Alex laughed. “Sure you will.” Maybe she could get through this, but then she saw Press and the feelings ran over her again.

 

Christen smiled at Alex as the two made eye contact from across the locker room but was quickly dismayed as Alex shot daggers at her. _What’s up with her now?_ she thought as she resumed changing. Christen watched as Alex shot up and stormed out of the locker room looking frustrated as ever. She purposely waited until everyone left so she could plant the ‘gift’ from Tobin in Alex’s locker. She smiled hoping it would cheer her teammate up.

“She’s so fucking fake,” Alex muttered to herself as she ran her hands over the top of her hair, realizing there was no pre-wrap to put into place. That only reminded her of Tobin which reminded her of Christen in the locker room.

“Who’s fake?” Kelley asked, taking one warm up lap around the field with her.

“Press,” Alex spat. “She thinks she can be all friendly with me then get with Tobin?” She scoffed. “Yeah..right.”

“Dude, chill. We can’t afford for you to play the way you did the other game. And we both know how you felt after that game.”

The forward sighed, coming to a slow walk as she finished her lap, rolling her shoulders back. “Right. I’m sorry. We need to win.” Her eyes scanned the crowd, knowing it was one of the bigger ones of the season. Her eyes were just about to look away when she saw Tobin in the stands. Even though they weren’t speaking, her heart still skipped a beat when she saw her. Then she realized Tobin was probably there to see Christen and that didn’t sit well.

“Alex…” Kelley warned.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, stomping away to go get a drink of water.

“We need her,” Hope said, coming out of nowhere to Kelley’s side.

“I know,” the smaller girl sighed. “We need a miracle at this point.”

Warm ups were tense, mostly because of Alex, but the team attempted to shake it off, and some even took turns to cheer Alex up. A few were lucky enough to muster a smile or a soft laugh, but it didn’t last too long. Alex had to fight every instinct she had to look behind her where she knew Tobin was. It was a battle within herself she was determined to win, and she did so as she jogged into the locker room after warm ups and opening her locker. She was surprised to find new pink pre-wrap sitting there. She frowned when she saw a small note attached to it. While her starting teammate stook their warm ups off, Alex opened it as curiosity got the best of her.

 

  
_I don’t care about the status quo.._   


_I just care about the status of us._

_\- that surfer girl_

Despite everything that had happened within the span of four days, a genuine smile found her face. She put the note back amongst her things in the locker and grabbed the pre-wrap, pulling it out and making a headband.

“HEY! You got more pre-wrap!” Heather commented. There was a pink pre-wrap headband on her head.

Alex gaped. “You DID take it!” She whacked her teammate’s arm, rolling her eyes. Somehow she felt lighter now. She found more confidence in her game tonight, and it was because of the little note.

Hope noticed the change in the girl and grinned, punching her fellow captain on the arm. “We’re in it tonight, Wambach.”

“Hell yeah, we are!”

 

Tobin couldn’t contain the smile on her face as she saw the pink pre wrap on Alex’s head as she came back out after the warmups. The girl looked to be in a much better mood now and Tobin hoped her note had a little something to do with that. Her assumption was confirmed when Alex looked up before the start of the game to meet the girl’s brown eyes with a small grin letting Tobin know ‘ _it wasn’t completely over_ ’. She made Alex smile and that was good enough for now.

 

It was apparently even better than ‘good’ as Alex’s touches had grown lighter than during warmups. She seemed faster and more determined to score. Tobin jumped up and held her breath as one of Hope’s long balls hit Alex perfectly. The striker swiftly moved the ball and positioned herself for a left footed kick. Before anyone could take another breath Alex’s shot reached the back of the net putting the home team up 1-0. Tobin jumped up with the crowd as everyone realized what just happened. Tobin felt a wave of pride and joy as she watched Alex get tackled by her teammates.

Alex was completely in the zone. She didn’t feel the weight of Christen outplaying her, or losing Tobin. No. It was just the field, her team and the ball. Hope’s long ball couldn’t have been any better. None of the defenders were expecting it, letting her get past them enough to shoot it. It was a weird angle, but it worked. Soon she was on the ground, thanks to her teammates. She laughed, feeling lighter by the moment. Even Hope was smiling as she looked back. They reset again and Alex was on fire. Everything that was falling apart for the past few weeks seemed to fix itself in a matter of minutes before the first whistle blew. Alex didn’t care about the crowd and she didn’t care about Christen and whatever was going on with Tobin. All she cared about was winning this game. She even dropped back a little when it was needed, making sure they secured that shut out. By half, she was jumping around and yelling victories with her teammates. She couldn’t remember a time she felt any better.

 

Tobin felt the rush in her system as Alex paced up and down the field. She was so invested in the game  that all of her previous problems with Alex seemed to disappear as each minute passed. Tobin found herself clapping wildly as the ref blew the final whistle and Alex leaped on the blonde haired girl that was always jumping on everyone else. It was hard to see as the crowd of people jumping up and down blocked her view of the field. She decided to push her way out of the bleachers so as not to miss Alex and to avoid getting crushed by the sea of fans. She let out a sigh of relief as she walked into the parking lot free from the claustrophobic little area she was in moments ago. She knew the team was still on the field as the cheers ensued and she grinned widely knowing Alex had a big part in the win that night. Tobin wasn’t sure what she was going to say to the girl, her plan hadn’t gotten that far yet. But she knew that if they were ever going to make it, the conversation had to be then and there, no more waiting or running away. She made her way over to the tunnel area that was connected to the locker room to await Alex and whatever fate was going to throw at her.

 

The sound filling her ears was deafening and Alex wasn’t sure whether it was because of her teammates or the crowd. As soon as the whistle blew, she immediately made a beeline to Megan and jumped onto her, reversing the roles. She let out a laugh, pumping her fist into the air.

“You did it A Morgs!” Pinoe shouted.

“Hell yeah!” she screamed back as her teammates joined them. After a few moments, they all parted and Alex jumped off of her teammate and walked over to their small circle. She got pats on her back (and butt, courtesy of Kelley) as she arrived.

Coach only sang praises to them, and the smile couldn’t be wiped off of Alex’s face for a moment. She looked in the crowd and her smile faltered a little as she couldn’t find Tobin, but knew that there were too many people to properly look for the girl anyway. After Coach dismissed them, the team ran towards the stands, saluting them as they always did when they won major games. This only made the crowd scream louder and Alex locked eyes with Kelley, shaking her head. Somehow they’d gotten their rhythm back. She was dragged into the locker room and as soon as she walked in, Abby attacked her.

“You were fucking amazing tonight!” Abby yelled, shaking the younger girl by her shoulders.

Alex laughed. “Thanks Abs, so were you.”

“No kid, this is about you tonight,” the captain stated. “I wouldn’t have rather had that game go any different.”

Suddenly a tall figure attack Alex into a hug from behind. “That’s what I’m talking about Al!”

Her cheeks were hurting for all the laughing and smiling, but she couldn’t help it as she wriggled out of the grasp to turn to face her keeper. “You too, Solo. You’re the best keeper in the state for a reason, you know. Thanks for the great ball.”

“Can you play like that every game?” Hope asked, laughing.

“I’ll try,” she winked, giggling as she skipped away to her locker.

Alex was itching to go back outside and find Tobin - if the girl was even around - so she tried to pack quickly, but that didn’t seem possible. Teammates were constantly congratulating her, and when they weren’t they were screaming and hollering and messing around. Their energy was at an all time high that night, knowing this game alone secured them a spot in playoffs just two weeks away. She allowed herself to laugh and joke along, knowing these were the moments that were worth playing for. She peeled off her jersey and pulled on her hoodie, not even bothering with a shirt anymore because she was just that sweaty. As she finished collecting her things, she caught sight of the note. Again she read it and bit her lip to hide a smile, stuffing it into her pocket.

“Alex!” Sydney called out to her. “What’s the rush? We’re celebrating tonight!”

“Hell no you’re not!” Hope shot down immediately. “No ‘celebrations’ during the week, Syd!”

“We’re going out for pizza,” Sydney batted her eyelashes innocently.

Heather snorted. “Bullshit.”

“Thought so,” Hope rolled her eyes.

Alex only rolled her eyes, throwing her jersey into her bag and yelling goodbye to her teammates. She walked out, laughing at something she heard Heather say when she caught sight of Tobin. She froze, looking hard for a moment to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. The surfer looked so cooled and relaxed, leaning against the wall of the tunnel, like she always belonged there. Slowly, she walked towards her. “Hey,” she said softly, biting her lip.

“So can I get your autograph now?...or later?” Tobin said coolly and calmly as if nothing had ever gone awry between the two.

Alex let out a soft laugh, realizing just how much she missed the usual banters and flirtations between them. “Hmm...I think there’s something else we both need before we think about my autograph.”

“And what’s that?” Tobin asked truly not knowing what Alex was talking about but keeping her cool nonetheless.

The younger girl looked at her for a moment before saying, “The status of us. What is it? You already know how I feel. It’s up to you.”

Tobin had almost forgotten about the note she wrote for the girl in the rush of the game and the reality of standing in front of the forward now. She swallowed hard hoping to get rid of all the fears, and the hesitations swirling in her head. “Lex.. I have to be honest with you..I’m scared of you, i’m scared of the person I’m becoming, but I’m mostly scared of what i’m feeling. I know that I shouldn’t be afraid of any of these things, since the one thing i’m sure of ..is ‘us’.” Tobin watched as Alex opened her mouth to say something but she stopped her before the girl could get a word in. “Wait..before you say anything..I know you took a chance when you told me that you liked me, so it’s only right that I take a chance too.” Tobin let out a deep breath before taking a couple steps toward Alex and continuing.

“I - don’t want to run anymore, because the only thing worse than running away from someone you love, is walking back knowing you made a mistake...What I’m trying to say-is...I love you. I haven’t felt my heart beat in almost a week since we started fighting, and I - I need you Lex...I need ‘us’....I know i’m bad at all of this. But if there’s anyone i’d want to get better with..than it’d be you.” Tobin finished her rant, she felt almost numb and alive all at the same time as she tried to read Alex and what she was thinking.

Though Alex would usually interrupt in the middle of something like this to give her own opinion, she was rendered speechless once again by Tobin Heath. She took in every word that was being said, trying to figure out what it all meant. What really got her was the “I love you” in the middle of the whole thing. It hit her right in her chest, like she was finally realizing what “really really like” actually meant to her. Tobin wasn’t the only one. Once the older girl was finished, she looked at her for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts as she stood amazed at the surprises Tobin never failed to provide.

And of course, Alex would be the idiot that after all that would say, “You love me?”

Tobin didn’t want to mess anything up at this point, she had just spilled her heart out to the girl and she was unsure if her repeating the question was out of dumbfoundedness or fear.

She couldn’t find the words she wanted to say so she let instinct take over again. She took a smaller step forward and gently placed her lips on Alex’s.

Alex was taken by surprise. She expected Tobin to hesitate or ramble once again, but when she felt Tobin’s lips on hers, she panicked for a moment. It was what she’d wanted for the longest time, starting from the time they fell on top of each other on the beach. After a second, she found it in herself to relax, closing her eyes and kissing the older girl back. Her arms wrapped around her neck slowly, pulling her closer than she already was.

Tobin stopped to smile before whispering “Yeah I do”

She paused before breaking into her characteristic laugh “Now about that autograph…”

Alex laughed, rolling her eyes. “How about an ‘I love you too’ instead?”

Tobin smiled even wider at Alex’s comment “I guess that’ll work for now, but I still want it later..don’t think you get off the hook for loving me back”

The forward giggled, pressing her forehead against Tobin’s. “I think I can live with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read this little baby fic of ours. It's been a surprisingly fun and easy time writing with Kate (uswnt5ever) - our ideas seem to flow together and I swear we're on the same wavelength when it comes to ideas/planning. Thanks to whoever gave Kate this prompt, I hope you liked it. I think there's a strong possibility that we'll be writing again in the future :)


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